
John Chard
The Punching Preacher.
Count Three and Pray is directed by George Sherman and written by Herb Meadow. It stars Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward, Raymond Burr, Phillip Carey and Allison Hayes. A CinemaScope/Technicolor production, music is by George Duning and cinematography by Burnett Guffey.
At first glance it appears to be a film about a bad man finding his faith and coming good in the face of adversity, but there are many more strings to this particular bow. Even if it never quite reaches greatness.
Story has Heflin as Luke Fargo, a man who before the Civil War was something of a hell raiser, he loved women, he loved to drink, and he loved to fight. While serving in the war he was emotionally scarred by what he witnessed at The Bat...