Proposing to tell the story of a gun, Winchester'73 plays Dead Man's Gun with the title rifle, showing it pass from hand to hand without losing sight of the characters that once held it. Anthony Mann's first collaboration with Jimmy Stewart, it uses its conceit to give you a whirlwind tour of the Western. You get a bit of everything: Bounty hunters, the showgirl with a heart of gold, gamblers, "Indians", the Cavalry, people talking about the Civil War, a bank robbery, saloon brawls, outlaws, the Earps, a shooting contest, and lots of gunfire. I think the only thing missing was a train. That's fine, save some stuff for Winchester'74. All kidding aside, Jimmy Stewart is great, and he's not alone (which is good because as we follow the rifle, we lose sight of him, but never for too long). Good turns by Shelley Winters, creepy Dan Duryea, hustler Millard Mitchell, grizzled Jay C. Flippen, fresh-faced Tony Curtis, and others. I do condemn the casting of Rock Hudson as the Natives' chief, however. I mean, c'mon. (Not that any Hollywood Western passes the litmus test on this point, but it feels kind of worse when the actor attains stardom later and you can recognize them.) In a way, doing ALL of Westerndom in one go might have pushed Mann to take Stewart very different places in later movies, as neither The Naked Spur nor The Far Country - to name the ones I've seen - are typical Westerns.
I love Jimmy Stewart and I love repeating rifles so I'm biased to the max here. It's a good little western that features a great shooting competition at the beginning but the rest of the movie I think struggles to maintain the story of following the seemingly cursed rifle from owner to owner.
Upon second viewing I think it gets better. There are a few western films that focus really well on say, cattle driving, pioneering, etc. This film is the highlight western film for the repeating rifle.
Not the best Western I've seen but interesting enough. The best part for me was the shoot-off at the beginning to see who would get the Winchester One-In-a-Thousand.
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johnnyg
Jimmy Stewart wipes the floor with the rest of the cast in a decent B western.masoko
Dan Duryea as Waco Johnny Dean stole the showSiskoid
Proposing to tell the story of a gun, Winchester'73 plays Dead Man's Gun with the title rifle, showing it pass from hand to hand without losing sight of the characters that once held it. Anthony Mann's first collaboration with Jimmy Stewart, it uses its conceit to give you a whirlwind tour of the Western. You get a bit of everything: Bounty hunters, the showgirl with a heart of gold, gamblers, "Indians", the Cavalry, people talking about the Civil War, a bank robbery, saloon brawls, outlaws, the Earps, a shooting contest, and lots of gunfire. I think the only thing missing was a train. That's fine, save some stuff for Winchester'74. All kidding aside, Jimmy Stewart is great, and he's not alone (which is good because as we follow the rifle, we lose sight of him, but never for too long). Good turns by Shelley Winters, creepy Dan Duryea, hustler Millard Mitchell, grizzled Jay C. Flippen, fresh-faced Tony Curtis, and others. I do condemn the casting of Rock Hudson as the Natives' chief, however. I mean, c'mon. (Not that any Hollywood Western passes the litmus test on this point, but it feels kind of worse when the actor attains stardom later and you can recognize them.) In a way, doing ALL of Westerndom in one go might have pushed Mann to take Stewart very different places in later movies, as neither The Naked Spur nor The Far Country - to name the ones I've seen - are typical Westerns.DisneyStitch
I love Jimmy Stewart and I love repeating rifles so I'm biased to the max here. It's a good little western that features a great shooting competition at the beginning but the rest of the movie I think struggles to maintain the story of following the seemingly cursed rifle from owner to owner.Upon second viewing I think it gets better. There are a few western films that focus really well on say, cattle driving, pioneering, etc. This film is the highlight western film for the repeating rifle.
Dieguito
Not great, but a good western. Now I wish a Winchester!!Shingwauk
Rock Hudson as an Indian....I mean Really!dpka
When see Rock Hudson's name I was shocked! And Anthony Curtis. Great cast!ClassicLady
Not the best Western I've seen but interesting enough. The best part for me was the shoot-off at the beginning to see who would get the Winchester One-In-a-Thousand.