Heaven with a Gun
Heaven with a Gun is a 1969 American Western film starring Glenn Ford and directed by Lee H. Katzin. Plot Jim Killian arrives at the town of Vinegaroon, which is divided between cattlemen and sheepherders, and purchases a vacant barn. Cattle rancher Asa Beck, his son Coke, and his cowhands constantly harass the sheepherders, sometimes with lethal results, and the sheepherders are on the verge of retaliating in kind. Both parties quickly learn that Killian is a capable gunfighter and offer to hire him, but Killian invites them all to the town for a meeting. There, Killian reveals he has become a preacher and converted his barn into a church. He vows to the townspeople that he will protect everyone who lives in the vicinity, and warns that no one else is permitted to kill except him; when two of Beck's cowhands draw their guns to attack Killian, Killian shoots them both to prove his point. The following Sunday, everyone in Vinegaroon and its surroundings attends Killian's church service. Killian demonstrates that, contrary to Beck's beliefs, cattle and sheep can be kept together and share the local water sources without detriment to either animal, and argues that this is no different than how people of all kinds can live together in harmony. However, Beck pegged Killian as a threat before the service and hired an outsider called Mace. When the service ends, Mace publicly exposes Killian as a former criminal associate and a convicted murderer. Beck and his allies call for Killian's expulsion from the town, but others come to the preacher's defense, asserting he had already paid his debt to society in prison and he has earned a second chance. Bart Paterson, a cattleman, and Abraham Murdock, a sheepherder, decide to follow Killian's advice and make peace with each other. Meanwhile, Killian has taken under his protection a half-Native American girl named Leloopa, whose father had been lynched by Coke Beck. Coke develops a fascination with the girl. While Killian is discussing the Becks' recent razing of sheepherder Scotty Andrews' homestead with Madge McCloud, the madam of the local saloon and brothel, Coke corners Leloopa in the town stables and rapes her. When Killian realizes what happened, he gives Coke a severe beating in full view of the town. In response, Asa Beck begins moving his cattle herd to the contested watering hole with intent to occupy the area and permanently shut out the sheepherders. In the night, Scotty Andrews sneaks into their camp and manages to stab Coke to death through the neck with his wool shears before being gunned down by Mace. A grieving Beck declares war against anyone in Vinegaroon who does not follow him. He orders Mace to burn down Killian's church and kill the preacher, then prepares to ambush the sheepherders, who are driving their herds to the watering hole alongside Murdock and Paterson to defy Beck's blockade. Mace holds Killian at gunpoint in the saloon while other cowhands set fire to the church,