Movie #621 .........................."Moonlighter"

Movie #621 "Moonlighter" is a Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray (a duo more famous for "Double Indemnity") western that I caught on TCM the other night, and I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars. Although most of the film was anomalous to most westerns, the ending was laughable as they ride off into the sunset. The story starts with Fred MacMurray in a cell next to a man who is hauled off a hanged, mistaking him for Fred. Fred is able to escape, and comes back after several weeks as a relative to the dead guy and pays (while, kind of, after he collects at gunpoint at the funeral) for the guy's funeral. So he shows up for his own funeral. Meanwhile, he decides to seek revenge on those who killed the guy. Meanwhile, after a couple of years, Barbara comes to the same funeral home to pay for a funeral and finds out that another guy did already. This indicates to her that Fred still lives --- she used to date him and is now dating his brother. Well, Fred comes home to mom and brother and old girlfriend and tries to rekindle romance, but they both decide it's better if she stays with the brother. The banker brother has always looked up to Fred,and when Fred and Ward Bond (who is in all these westerns, but usually a good guy because he is pal of John Wayne) concoct a scheme to rob the bank, the brother wants to be IN --- Fred objects because he promised Babs that the brother would stay safe, but brother says he's an adult and can make up his own mind. Well, I don't want to tell the rest, but there are more twists and turns after what happens during the bank robbery. How they ride off into the sunset after all of it is really ludicrous, but I guess they had to make the movie short and sweet. I enjoyed watching these two elevate the script, but bottom line? see Double Indemnity if you want to see these two in their best film together!