Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The Shakiest Gun Shot Liberty Valance (and missed)

A couple of weeks ago I was suddenly struck by some memories of a movie I watched repeatedly as a kid: The Shakiest Gun in the West. I remembered the line "...a...seven-shooter?" and realized that entire scene was a comedic riff on a much better film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Just now I happened to read the plot synposis of Shakiest Gun, and even the basic premise (educated/effeminate wimp sets out to civilize the west) is borrowed from Liberty Valance. It's probably been at least 14 years sine I watched Shakiest Gun...maybe I'll keep it that way. My fond memories of Don Knotts might be safest left alone.