There’s nothing revolutionary or subversive about this Western. It’s a fairly straightforward revenge drama. However, skilled writing that plays with story conventions combined with the always-wonderful screen legend James Stewart, the film emerges as a solid piece of cinema. As we will learn, greed for power is a dirty business to be in.
The film begins with Lin McAdam (Stewart) and his best friend High-Spade Frankie Wilson (Millard Mitchell, TWELVE O’CLOCK HIGH) riding into Dodge City where sheriff Wyatt Earp (Will Geer, IN COLD BLOOD) is holding a shooting contest for a rare Winchester rifle. Lin runs into Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally, JOHNNY BELINDA) who we can tell by their stare down have had a bad past together.
The film weaves from these men into the stories of other characters by following the ownership of the gun. We meet oily Indian trader Joe Lamont (John McIntire, PSYCHO), warring Indian chief Young Bull (Rock Hudson, GIANT), cowardly grifter Steve Miller (Charles Drake, THE SWIMMER), Steve’s dancehall girlfriend Lola Manners (Shelley Winters, A PATCH OF BLUE), cavalry vet Sgt. Wilkes (Jay C. Flippen, CAT BALLOU) and slimy outlaw Waco Johnnie Dean (Dan Duryea, 1965’s THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX).
As the story intersects the various plotlines, the film develops a love interest between Lin and Lola, as well as strengthens Lin’s need for a father figure. The story equally evokes Western mythos and breaks it down. We get episodes in Dodge City, hear about Custer’s Last Stand, etc., but also see the Indian point of view. Hudson's Young Bull is tired of taking the scraps from white men who have cheated the Indians over and over again.
The story is simple, but it's the details that are revealed and when they are revealed that makes the tale gripping. It’s not the how, but the why that we want to know. The black & white cinematography fits the dark mood wonderfully. The performances are solid across the board and the film gives Stewart a rare dark role. We even get early performances from Tony Curtis and James Best, who would go on to play Rosco P. Coltrane on TV’s DUKES OF HAZZARD.
Director Anthony Mann was best known for his Westerns and many considered this his best. WINCHESTER '73 was the first of five Westerns he'd make with Stewart during the 1950s. This film is a solid drama in classic Hollywood form.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
