The Gunfighter (1950)

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

William Bowers (story) and
André De Toth (story) ...

Release Date:

21 August 1950 (Sweden)

Genre:

Western | Drama

Tagline:

RINGO WAS HIS NAME! THE CHALLENGE OF EVERY OUTLAW GUNMAN! THE NOTORIOUS SELF-DEFENSE KILLER! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Notorious gunfighter Jimmy Ringo rides into town to find his true love, who doesn't want to see him. He hasn't come looking for trouble, but trouble finds him around every corner.

Plot Keywords:

Gunfight | 1880s | Absent Father | Ambush | Barbershop

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 30

5:15 AM

MAX

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Jimmy Ringo
Helen Westcott	...	Peggy Walsh
Millard Mitchell	...	Marshal Mark Strett
Jean Parker	...	Molly
Karl Malden	...	Mac
Skip Homeier	...	Hunt Bromley
Anthony Ross	...	Deputy Charlie Norris
Verna Felton	...	Mrs. August Pennyfeather
Ellen Corby	...	Mrs. Devlin
Richard Jaeckel	...	Eddie

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Germany:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | USA:Approved (PCA #14217)

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Large painting on wall behind Gregory Peck's chair in bar room is "Custer's Last Fight", painted in 1884 by Cassily Adams and reproduced as a lithographic print by Otto Becker from Adams's original painting. These prints were distributed in 1896 to bars and taverns all over America by the Anheuser Busch Company.

Quotes:

Marshal Mark Strett: Somebody after you?
Jimmy Ringo: Three somebodies.
Marshal Mark Strett: The law?
Jimmy Ringo: Naw, this is personal.
Marshal Mark Strett: I don't want 'em to catch up with you here.
Jimmy Ringo: I don't want 'em to catch up with me anywhere.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Conversation with Gregory Peck (1999)

Soundtrack:

Rock of Ages

Hellhounds On My Trail

Of all the westerns cranked out by the Hollywood film factory over the years only a few have become classics. This is possibly the best one of them all, much better than such highly touted items as John Ford's "The Searchers." And Gregory Peck plays the gunfighter to perfection. Peck was such a creative and brilliant actor, one wonders why he was so under appreciated. "The Gunfighter" gives Peck his best movie role, even better than his marvelous Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird." Almost matching Gregory Peck is a stellar cast with stand out performances by Karl Malden, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, and Helen Westcott. Of special note are the characterizations by Skip Homeier as the wannabe gunfighter, sort of a carbon copy of Jimmy Ringo (Gregory Peck) when he was wet behind the ears, and Richard Jaeckel who makes the most of his brief part.

What really makes this movie shine is Henry King's direction. When the movie opens, we see the gunfighter riding across the prairie as if pursued by the devil. One is reminded of the blues classic by Robert Johnson, "Hellhounds On My Trail." It is obvious that the gunfighter is running away from something hellish but it is soon revealed that he is also riding toward something, a lost dream, a life that could have been had he followed a different trail. The gunfighter thinks he can still grasp this life, that it is not too late. But deep in his psyche he knows it will never be. He holds on to the dream but is satisfied just to see his wife and little boy one last time, for the hounds of Hell are about to catch up with him.