The Gunfighter (film)

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The Gunfighter

Directed by	Henry King
Produced by	Nunnally Johnson
Written by	William Bowers William Sellers
Starring	Gregory Peck Helen Westcott Millard Mitchell Jean Parker Karl Malden
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	June 23, 1950
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Gunfighter is a 1950 western film starring Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott and Millard Mitchell. This film was directed by Henry King. It was written by William Bowers and William Sellers, with an uncredited rewrite by Nunnally Johnson, from a story by Bowers and Andre de Toth.

1 Plot summary
2 Reaction
3 Cast
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Notorious aging gunfighter Jimmy Ringo (Gregory Peck) tries to avoid the trouble that goes with his reputation as the fastest in the west. However, when a cocksure young man named Eddie (Richard Jaeckel) draws on him, Ringo has no choice but to kill him. Ringo is warned to leave because the deceased has three brothers who will be sure to seek revenge. Sure enough, they pursue him, but he takes them by surprise, disarms them and drives off their horses.

Ringo then stops in the nearby town of Cayenne to see his wife, whom he has not seen in many years, and their young son. The local barkeeper, Mac (Karl Malden), remembers him from another town, but alerts Sheriff Mark Strett (Millard Mitchell), who turns out to be an old friend of Ringo's. Strett agrees to ask Ringo's wife, who has changed her name to Peggy Walsh (Helen Westcott) to hide her past, if she wants to see him. She declines. While waiting, Ringo has to deal with Hunt Bromley (Skip Homeier), the local would-be gunslinger, and Jerry Marlowe (an uncredited Cliff Clark), who believes Ringo killed his son. Ringo also meets another friend from the past, Molly (Jean Parker), who persuades Peggy to see him. Ringo tells his wife that he has changed, that he wants to settle down somewhere where people do not know him, possibly California, and asks her to go with him. She refuses, but agrees to think it over for a year. Ringo also gets acquainted with his son before he starts to leave.

However, he has spent too much time in town. The three brothers arrive, but are captured before they can ambush Ringo. Then, Bromley seizes his chance; while Ringo has his back turned, Bromley shoots him down. As he lies dying, Ringo tells the sheriff to say that he drew first. When Bromley starts to thank him, Ringo informs his killer that now he will know how it feels to have every hotshot and two-bit gunfighter out to get him. Strett orders Bromley out of town, and punctuates his order with a severe beating.

[edit] Reaction

The film was nominated for a WGA Award for Best Written American Western. Writing for the New York Times, Bosley Crowther noted in his June 24, 1950 review:

The addicts of Western fiction may find themselves rubbing their eyes and sitting up fast to take notice before five minutes have gone by in Twentieth Century Fox's The Gunfighter, which came to the Roxy yesterday. For suddenly they will discover that they are not keeping company with the usual sort of hero of the commonplace Western at all. Suddenly, indeed, they will discover that they are in the exciting presence of one of the most fascinating Western heroes as ever looked down a six-shooter's barrel.^[1]

Singer/Songwriter Bob Dylan referenced scenes from the movie several times in his 1986 song "Brownsville Girl."

[edit] Cast

Gregory Peck as Jimmy Ringo. John Wayne wanted badly to play Ringo. The story was purchased by Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures for Wayne. But Wayne refused to work for Cohn, who had mistreated him nearly twenty years earlier when Wayne was just starting out. Cohn therefore sold the project to Twentieth Century Fox.
Helen Westcott as Peggy Walsh
Millard Mitchell as Marshal Mark Strett
Jean Parker as Molly
Karl Malden as Mac
Richard Jaeckel as Eddie
Skip Homeier as Hunt Bromley