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Parents' Guide to

The Shakiest Gun in the West

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Wacky Don Knotts Western spoof has lots of drinking.

Movie NR 2003 101 minutes
The Shakiest Gun in the West Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 8+

Based on 1 parent review

Ken R.
Ken R. Adult
August 31, 2020
age 8+

For THE Comedy Western - Check Out: "The Paleface"

While Don's version of this funny tale might be OK - try out the original version for a load of slick laughs. Introducing: The Paleface – THE Comedy Western While some of the humour might have fallen out of vogue, this fun romp remains a top-notch skit on the most popular genre of its era. Bob Hope gave us many overtly humorous movies and he was made for this type of farce, there are not many others who could have injected so many laugh-out-loud belly chuckles into the situations generated by this material. Jane Russel is just right as undercover agent Calamity Jane and her exit scene is a lot of fun. Most of the jokes are spot on and those that may not hold up (for some) are still worthy of a smile. The three strip (IB) Technicolor is remarkable and it’s so good to see it given a near-to-the-original-look transfer. In fact, this Universal Archive release is quite exceptional in all aspects of DVD presentation (better than many of the current W.B. M.O.D. efforts) Standout sequences have Mr Hope being given instructions on how to outsmart a mean gunslinger, only to get all the helpful suggestion back to front - then, encountering a black cat in the undertaker’s preparation room. This is LOL comedic writing for those who enjoy clever slapstick type farce. It’s quite removed from much of today’s overindulged PC asides, and any who might take offence at the pretend Indians bodies that pile up during some farcical scenes, need to realise that white eyes are dropping off at the same rate. It’s all too comical to get too carried away with reality. There’s a fine Victor Young music score with an Award-winning song (although it’s worthy of a better rendition than the comical one given here by Bob) Fun, fun. fun.
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What's the Story?

It is the year 1870, and Jesse W. Haywood (Don Knotts) has just graduated from a dental school in Philadelphia. He plans to move west, to tame wild teeth and spread positive dental hygiene. But along the way, he meets a cattle rustler and stagecoach robber named Penny (Barbara Rhodes) who has just cut a deal with the feds to break up a gun-smuggling operation between two con artists posing as ministers and Native Americans. Penny pretends to fall in love with Jesse, using him as a way to get to the West, and along the way, Jesse does battle with Native Americans and appears to be the one defending the caravan of wagons when it's Penny all along. Bolstered by what he believes is his sharpshooting, and heralded as a hero by those around him, Jesse starts to act the cowboy, until he crosses paths with one Arnold the Kid, who challenges him to a shootout. With Penny's help again, Jesse wins, but when Penny is taken prisoner by the very Native Americans she's committed to stopping, it is up to Jesse to show he has the courage on his own to rescue her.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

THE SHAKIEST GUN IN THE WEST is the kind of campy-fun movie they stopped making in the late 1960s or thereabouts. Not a great film by conventional standards, but as mindless entertainment for its own sake, it isn't bad. Don Knotts takes his Barney Fife character from The Andy Griffith Show -- replete with gun misfirings and nervous twitchings at the signs of any danger -- and applies it to this spoof of Westerns. Slapstick, pratfalls, and wonton silliness abounds.

Made in 1968 (and a remake of a 1948 Bob Hope film called The Paleface), not all the humor will resonate with kids, over 40 years later. The excessive drinking and Native American stereotyping should call into question the idea that "movies were way more wholesome than they are today," but for those who find humor in clumsiness and gun misfirings, The Shakiest Gun in the West is an enjoyable send-up of Western movie conventions.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what a parody is. What is this movie making fun of? What elements of a traditional western does it recreate and what does it exaggerate?

  • As the "hero," how is Don Knotts' character much different from the "strong, silent type" who typically personifies the hero of a Western movie?

  • How is the "heroine" of the movie different than most women in Western movies?

Movie Details

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