Fast on the Draw
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Thomas Carr
Jimmie "shamrock" Ellison
Russ "lucky" Hayden
Raymond Hatton
Fuzzy Knight
Betty Adams
Film Details
Technical Specs
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com//img/global/logo-AFI.png)
Synopsis
In 1871, after the stagecoach from Mesa City, Arizona, is attacked by a gang of bandits, young Jimmie "Shamrock" Ellison watches as his parents are brutally murdered. Although he develops a phobia of guns as a result of the killings, Shamrock vows to follow in his father's footsteps and become a marshal when he grows up. Sixteen years later, after Shamrock, a cowboy, sees another gang of bandits attacking a stage, he jumps aboard to stop the runaway coach, whose driver has been shot in the shoulder. He later returns to town where he reports the incident to his friend Russ "Lucky" Hayden. When the coach finally arrives in town, a young woman named Ann is greeted by her father, the Colonel, who is also a lawman. At the town hotel, Ann urges her father to give the marshal and deputy jobs to Shamrock and Lucky, respectively. When the Colonel arrives, he asks Shamrock to become the marshal of Lawless, Arizona, but Shamrock declines, saying that he is scheduled to leave for Utah the next day. A bit later, at the saloon, however, Shamrock asks for some time to consider the offer, and the Colonel's friend, the Deacon, gives him the marshal's badge to keep while he decides. Later, the Colonel tells Ann that Shamrock's father murdered his brother Bob. At the hotel, a rock with a note attached to it is tossed into Shamrock's room. The note, signed, "The Cat," demands that Shamrock leave Mesa City immediately. Later, Shamrock agrees to take the Lawless job on the condition that Lucky be given the deputy's job. Meanwhile, outlaw Tex, who is working for "The Cat," orders his men to kidnap Shamrock and Lucky. Ann and Shamrock, meanwhile, question the Colonel about a cattle shipment, and Ann tells Shamrock that the Colonel dislikes him now that he is the marshal. At the saloon, the Colonel brags about a shipment of gold due to arrive that evening, of which Shamrock is unaware. The gang gives the Colonel a gun, informing him that Shamrock has violated his order that he stay off his property. The Colonel rushes home, where Shamrock sees him and shoots the gun from his hand. Moments later, however, Shamrock is shot at by a third gunman outside. Just then, Lucky and Shamrock learn that the express office coach has been attacked and rush to catch the bandits. After the bandits escape, Lucky and Shamrock gather a posse together to chase after them. Later, Tex demands double his share from The Cat, who is actually the Deacon. When Shamrock suddenly bursts in, Tex pulls his gun. The posse then arrives, and Shamrock overcomes his fear of guns and arrests the Deacon, while one of the bandits confesses that Tex has taken the money he stole from the coach to the gang's hideout in a nearby canyon. After the gang is arrested and taken to jail, the Colonel apologizes for doubting Shamrock.
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com//img/global/logo-AFI.png)
Director
Thomas Carr
Cast
Jimmie "shamrock" Ellison
Russ "lucky" Hayden
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/RaymondHatton.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Raymond Hatton
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/FuzzyKnight.103652.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Fuzzy Knight
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/JulieAdams.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Betty Adams
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/TomTyler.195439.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Tom Tyler
George Lewis
John Cason
Stanley Price
Stephen Carr
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/DennisMoore.134648.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Dennis Moore
George Chesebro
Bud Osborne
Jimmie Martin
I. Stanford Jolley
Roy Butler
Judith Webster
Cliff Taylor
Helen Gibson
Eugene Lay
Fraser Mcminn
James Van Horn
Bud Hooker
Crew
F. O. Collings
Archie Dalzell
Harry Eckles
Glen Glenn
Walter Greene
Bert Henrikson
Moree Herring
Murray Lerner
Ray Mercer
Ernest Miller
Theodore Offenbecker
Ron Ormond
Ron Ormond
Fred Preble
Maurice Tombragel
Ira Webb
Gloria Welsch
Hugh Winn
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com//img/global/logo-AFI.png)
Film Details
Technical Specs
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com//img/global/logo-AFI.png)
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
A working title for the film was West of Brazos.
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com//img/global/logo-AFI.png)