If you’ve ever fallen down a rabbit hole of 1970s Westerns, you’ve probably stumbled across Guns of a Stranger. It’s a weird one. Released in 1973, it feels like a movie caught between two eras—the dying breath of the classic Hollywood Western and the gritty, low-budget realism of the "New Hollywood" phase. Honestly, the cast of Guns of a Stranger is the main reason anyone still talks about it today. You have a legendary crooning cowboy trying to make a comeback, a future TV icon, and a handful of character actors who basically lived on the sets of Gunsmoke and Bonanza.
The film follows Matthew Bone, a man haunted by his past as a gunfighter, who winds up protecting a widow and her son from a greedy land grabber. Standard stuff. But the casting choices? They’re anything but standard.
Marty Robbins and the Singing Cowboy Transition
Marty Robbins wasn’t just a guest star. He was the whole show. By 1973, Marty Robbins was already a country music god. "El Paso" had been a massive hit over a decade prior, and he had this specific image: the clean-cut, velvet-voiced cowboy. In Guns of a Stranger, he plays Matthew Bone. He’s also the guy who wrote and sang the theme song, "The Fast Gun," which is arguably more famous than the movie itself.
Robbins had a genuine obsession with the Old West. He didn't just play a cowboy for the cameras; he collected memorabilia and wrote "gunfighter ballads" because he loved the lore. This passion bleeds into his performance. He’s not a classically trained actor—you can tell—but he has this quiet, stilted dignity that actually works for a man trying to outrun his own reputation. He wanted to be the next Roy Rogers, but the 1970s were too cynical for that. The movie reflects that struggle. It’s a G-rated film in an era where The Wild Bunch had already changed the rules of violence.
Chill Wills: The Heart of the Supporting Cast
You cannot talk about the cast of Guns of a Stranger without mentioning Chill Wills. If you recognize the voice, it’s probably because he was the voice of Francis the Talking Mule. Or maybe you remember him as Beekeeper in The Alamo. By the time he joined this production, Wills was a seasoned pro with over 30 years in the business.
He plays Tom, providing the gravelly, salt-of-the-earth energy that Robbins lacked. Wills was the ultimate "utility player" in Hollywood. He knew how to fill a frame. In this film, his presence grounds the story. While Robbins is the star, Wills provides the technical weight. He had this way of squinting at the sun that made you believe he’d actually spent fifty years on a dusty trail.
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Dandy Don Meredith: From the Gridiron to the Desert
This is where the casting gets truly "seventies." Don Meredith, better known as "Dandy Don," was a superstar quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys before becoming a legendary broadcaster on Monday Night Football. In the early 70s, he was trying to pivot into acting.
Meredith plays a character named... well, he’s basically there to be the charismatic presence. Seeing an NFL legend in a dusty Western alongside a country music star is the kind of crossover that only happened back then. It was a play for the "Middle America" audience. You get the football fans, the country music fans, and the Western fans all in one theater. It didn't quite make him a movie star, but it added a layer of celebrity curiosity to the film that persists today.
The Women and the Villains: Familiar Faces
Connie Smith plays Virginia, the widow. Like Robbins, Smith was a country music powerhouse. Her casting was a deliberate move to double down on the musical appeal of the film. She wasn’t a prolific actress, and Guns of a Stranger remains her most notable film credit. Her chemistry with Robbins is polite—very much in line with the "family-friendly" vibe the producers were chasing.
Then you have the heavies. Steven Kanaly is in this. Before he became a household name as Ray Krebbs on Dallas, he was cutting his teeth in roles like this. He plays "Strange," and you can see the early flashes of the intensity that would later make him a TV staple.
The villainy is rounded out by guys like Shug Fisher and Charles Dierkop. If you watched TV in the 60s or 70s, you’ve seen Charles Dierkop. He has one of those faces—sharp, slightly menacing, and instantly recognizable. He was Flat Nose Curry in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Having him in the cast of Guns of a Stranger gave the film a much-needed boost of "Western street cred."
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Production Context: Why the Cast Matters
Why does this specific group of people matter? Because Guns of a Stranger was an independent production. It wasn't a big-studio MGM or Warner Bros. flick. It was produced by Marty Robbins’ own company. This meant he had a hand in picking his friends and people he respected.
The filming took place mostly in Arizona, around Old Tucson and Mescal. These were the same sets used for Rio Bravo and The Outlaw Josey Wales. When you see the cast walking down those streets, they are walking through cinematic history.
A Mix of Styles
The acting styles in the movie are all over the place.
- Marty Robbins is playing it straight and sincere.
- Chill Wills is doing his classic "crusty old man" bit.
- The younger actors like Kanaly are trying to bring a more modern, Method-adjacent energy.
- Don Meredith is mostly just being Dandy Don.
It’s a tonal mess, but a fascinating one. It represents a moment where the industry didn't quite know what to do with the Western genre. Should it be a musical? A gritty drama? A family film? Guns of a Stranger tried to be all of them by hiring people from every corner of entertainment.
Why the Critics Weren't Kind (But Fans Are)
Honestly, critics at the time weren't thrilled. They thought the movie was anachronistic. By 1973, audiences were watching High Plains Drifter. They wanted blood, anti-heroes, and moral ambiguity. Guns of a Stranger felt like a throwback to 1954.
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However, for fans of Marty Robbins, this is a holy grail. It’s a visual extension of his albums. When you look at the cast of Guns of a Stranger, you aren't looking at a group of people trying to win Oscars. You're looking at a group of people trying to preserve a specific kind of American storytelling.
Looking Back: The Legacy of the Performers
Most of the cast members have since passed away. Marty Robbins died in 1982, just a few weeks after being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Chill Wills died in 1978. Their work in this film serves as a time capsule.
If you're going to watch it, don't go in expecting Unforgiven. Go in to see a country music legend live out his childhood fantasies. Watch it to see a young Steven Kanaly before he moved to Southfork Ranch. Watch it for the "Dandy Don" cameo.
Actionable Steps for Western Enthusiasts
If you are interested in exploring the work of this specific cast or the era of the singing cowboy, here is how to dive deeper:
- Listen to the Soundtrack First: Marty Robbins’ album The Gunfighter includes "The Fast Gun" and other tracks that set the mood for the film. It's often better than the movie itself.
- Track Down the Mescal Connection: Look up other films shot at the Mescal movie set in Arizona. Many members of this cast worked on multiple productions in that same dusty town.
- Compare the Villains: Watch Charles Dierkop in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid right after this. It shows how a great character actor can adapt his "menace" to different budget levels.
- Check Streaming Archives: Because it’s an independent film, Guns of a Stranger often pops up on free, ad-supported streaming services like Tubi or YouTube’s "Timeless Westerns" channels.
The cast of Guns of a Stranger represents the end of an era. It’s a weird, sincere, and occasionally clunky tribute to the legends of the West, performed by people who truly loved the genre. It’s not perfect cinema, but it’s an essential piece of 1970s pop culture history.
To fully appreciate the film, focus on the transition of Marty Robbins from a recording artist to a film lead. His performance reflects a man who understood the "Gunfighter" archetype better than almost anyone in Nashville or Hollywood. By observing the supporting performances of Chill Wills and Steven Kanaly, you can see the bridge between the Golden Age of Westerns and the television era that followed. This film remains a definitive example of how celebrity status in the 1970s was leveraged to keep the Western genre alive during its most turbulent decade.