'Winchester 73'
I've been saturating myself in westerns lately, even though (outside of the revisionist westerns) it's never been a genre that I've been overly fond of. But, even so, within its realm there are a number of genuine old time classics that are a must see for anyone who's interested in film in general. Alongside 'Shane', 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' or '3:10 to Yuma', 'Winchester 73' is definitely one of them. Based on the famous "gun that tamed the wild west" (although the Colt may disagree) 'Winchester 73' stars the great Jimmy Stewart as Lin McAdam, who rides into Dodge City with his ever faithful friend High-Spade Frankie Wilson (Milard Mitchell) and they enter a shooting competition in which the prize is a Winchester repeating rifle model 1873. Upon surrendering their six shooters, as was the historical policy in Dodge City, McAdam is surprised to find Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally), a man who he's been looking for. What's more, Dutch has also entered the competition. After some, frankly unbelievable, shooting even for Hollywood standards, McAdam wins the rifle, much to the consternation of Dutch who seeks to steal it back. Thus a series of events is set in motion as we follow a number of characters and their overlapping circumstances, and the Winchester 73 macguffin as it goes through a number of different hands.
'Winchester 73' was made in 1950 and while it certainly has the tendency to fall into cliche here and there, it is nevertheless a compelling story, well directed and more than capably performed by all concerned. Directed by Anthony Mann, it eschews the stupidity of a John Ford film and eliminates the weaknesses of Howard Hawks, to result in a Hollywood cowboy movie that can enjoyed today on today's terms and not purely its own. That is to say, the viewer doesn't have to enter into a state of forgiveness or make excuses for its shortcomings to be entertained by it. Of course, that is not to say that it's completely free of period issues, such as white actors as Indians, but this is one of the few (if only) transgressions the film makes with regards to 1950's movie making.
The film was also largely responsible for kickstarting the second wave of Hollywood westerns, which had been suffering from a lull in popularity. It also did wonders for Stewart's own profile, not to mention his bank account and, while he was already a major actor, it catapulted him into the bracket of Hollywood superstar. Stewart is his usual consummate self in the "everyman" role of Lin McAdam, delivering everything you'd expect from his, admittedly, limited range. He effortlessly draws the viewer into the adventure and invites us to follow him. But the support is also fantastic, with genuinely entertaining performances all round. Even the second tier support from the likes of John McIntire as the Indian trader, or Will Geer (Grandpa from 'The Waltons') as Wyatt Earp are great and make their roles much larger than they were written and special mention should go to Dan Duryea as Waco Johnnie Dean, a charming and smiling, yet utterly ruthless killer. And the only female lead of the piece, the brilliant Shelly Winters, goes toe to toe with the men on the screen and is just as entertaining to watch as she smart mouths her way through one perilous situation to the next. There are also a couple of future stars in very minor roles that will reward the observant, one of whom was quite a surprise.
The director, Anthony Mann, who up til 1950 had only helmed B movies, keeps tight hold of a great but potentially rambling script. In the hands of another director, the film could have been a bit of mess, but Mann steers a contained, focused, story and manages to get the best out of his actors with, perhaps, the only weak exception being Charles Drake as the Stephen Miller. In fairness to Drake, he probably has the most unappreciative type of role in the movie, so we can cut him a bit of slack.
'Winchester 73' is a film that I have long known about, but always dismissed as a "50's western", thinking it was just another movie from that era that would end up being a tired exhibition of the usual tropes and cliches of the genre from that particular period. But, contrary to that, it's an authentic gem that's worth every second of the viewer's time.
9/10
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Originally Posted by bassman
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