''A Gunfight'' is a 1971 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Lamont Johnson Ernest Lamont Johnson Jr. (September 30, 1922 – October 24, 2010) was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards. Early years Johnson was born in Stockto ...

, starring Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash. The film was financed by the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, although there are no leading Native American characters in the story. Douglas' fee was $150,000 plus a percentage of the profits.

Plot

Will Tenneray and Abe Cross are two aging, famous gunfighters, both in need of money. Cross rides into town, having failed as a gold prospector. His reputation is such that everyone expects him to shoot it out with Tenneray, who capitalizes on his legend by working at the saloon to "sucker fools into buying drinks." To the town's surprise, Tenneray and Cross take a liking to one another. There is no hostility between them whatsoever. Tenneray is desperate for money, however. He comes up with the idea to stage a duel to the death in a bullfight arena, with the ticket proceeds going to the winner. Unfortunately, by killing Cross, he reasons to Nora, his wife, "I could lose my best friend." The actual gunfight is shot in a low-key and unromanticised fashion, and is over in a couple of seconds, Cross killing Tenneray with the first bullet. (This defies conventions with the "man in black" winning.) There is an extended fantasy sequence near the end, where we see what might have happened if Tenneray had won, which may have confused some viewers. It may be open to interpretation if this is Cross's fantasy or Tenneray's widow's fantasy.

Cast

* Kirk Douglas as Will Tenneray * Johnny Cash as Abe Cross *

Jane Alexander Jane Alexander (née Quigley; born October 28, 1939) is an American actress and author. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. From 1993 to 19 ...

as Nora Tenneray *

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portrayi ...

as Jenny Sims *

Keith Carradine Keith Ian Carradine ( ; born August 8, 1949) is an American actor who has had success on stage, film, and television. He is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's film ''Nashville'', Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series '' Deadwood ...

as Young Gunfighter *

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as on the 1980s and 1990s television series ''MacGyver'' as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate ...

as Marv *

Raf Vallone The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's Air force, air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal ...

as Francisco Alvarez *

Eric Douglas Eric Anthony Douglas (June 21, 1958 – July 6, 2004) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. Douglas was the youngest son of actor Kirk Douglas and his second wife Anne Buydens. His half brother was actor and producer Michael Douglas. Dougl ...

as Bud Tenneray * Robert J. Wilke as Marshal Tom Cater *

Paul Lambert Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town. Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...

as Ed Fleury

Production

The film was based on an original script by Harold Bloom who sent it to Kirk Douglas who loved it and decided to star and co-produce. Douglas persuaded Johnny Cash to co star. Finance came in part from the oil-rich Jicarilla tribe, whose head, Chief Charlie, was an admirer of Johnny Cash. Filming took place in New Mexico.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunfight, A 1971 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Bryna Productions films Films directed by Lamont Johnson Films scored by Laurence Rosenthal Paramount Pictures films Films shot in Madrid Jicarilla Apache 1970s English-language films 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links