''The Gunfighter'' is a 1950 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 Henry King and starring

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

Helen Westcott Helen Westcott (born Myrthas Helen Hickman, January 1, 1928 – March 17, 1998) was an American stage and screen actress and former child actress. She is best known for her work in ''The Gunfighter'' (1950). Early years Westcott was the daughte ...

Millard Mitchell Millard Mitchell (August 14, 1903 – October 13, 1953) was an American character actor whose credits include roughly 30 feature films and two television appearances. He appeared as a bit player in eight films between 1931 and 1936. Mitchell ...

and

Karl Malden Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American actor. He was primarily a character actor, who according to Robert Berkvist, "for more than 60 years brought an intelligent intensity and a homespun aut ...

. It was written by

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

s William Bowers and William Sellers, with an uncredited rewrite by writer and producer

Nunnally Johnson Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He ...

, from a story by Bowers and screenwriter and director

Andre DeToth Endre Antal Miksa DeToth, better known as Andre de Toth (born Endre Antal Mihály Tóth; May 15, 1913 – October 27, 2002), was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in Makó, Austria-Hungary. He directed the 3D film ''House of ...

. The film was the second of King's six collaborations with Peck. It was nominated for Best Motion Picture Story for William Bowers and

André de Toth Endre Antal Miksa DeToth, better known as Andre de Toth (born Endre Antal Mihály Tóth; May 15, 1913 – October 27, 2002), was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in Makó, Austria-Hungary. He directed the 3D film House of Wa ...

during the 23rd Academy Awards.

Plot

A young, reckless

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaqu ...

named Eddie deliberately provokes an argument with notorious

gunfighter Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

Jimmy Ringo, who is widely known as the fastest draw in the West, making him the perpetual target of every young gunslinger eager to become famous as "the man who shot Ringo". When Eddie draws his pistol, Ringo has no choice but to kill him. Eddie's three brothers seek revenge and pursue Ringo as he leaves town. Ringo ambushes and disarms them, then drives off their horses. He tells them to walk back to town; instead, they obtain fresh horses from a nearby stable. As Ringo rides to the town of Cayenne and settles into a corner of the local saloon, the barkeeper alerts Marshal Mark Strett. Strett is a reformed gunslinger and old friend of Ringo's; he urges his friend to leave, since his presence will surely cause undue trouble. Ringo agrees to go as soon as he sees his wife, Peggy, whom he has not seen in eight years, and his son, who doesn't even know he exists. Strett tells him Peggy has changed her surname to conceal their relationship and doesn't wish to see him. Two locals - merchant Jerry Marlowe and local thug Hunt Bromley - both decide to kill Ringo; Marlowe blames him for his son's murder and Bromley wants to be famous. Ringo spots Marlowe aiming a rifle at him and disarms the man before locking him up, though he swears he didn't kill his son. Molly — another old friend — eventually persuades Peggy to talk to Ringo. Ringo tells her that he is weary of life as a gunfighter and, having seen how Strett turned his life around, wants to settle down. He intends to head west to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where people do not know him, and invites Peggy to come with him. She refuses but agrees to reconsider in a year's time if he stays out of trouble until then. Ringo meets his son at last, but honors Peggy's wish not to tell the boy that he is his father. Ringo's business in Cayenne is finished, but he has lingered too long. The three vengeful brothers try to ambush him outside of the saloon before Strett and his deputies intercept and apprehend them. Ringo saddles his horse and bids farewell to Peggy and his son, but Bromley then fatally shoots him in the back. As Ringo lies dying, he asks Strett not to arrest his killer nor hang him. Bromley, he says, will soon learn as Ringo did that notoriety as a gunfighter is a curse that will follow him wherever he goes, making him an outcast for the rest of his life. Strett gives Bromley a severe beating and banishes him from Cayenne, musing that it probably won't be long before "the man who shot Ringo" meets his own grisly fate. In death, Ringo has finally found what he sought for so long: his wife's forgiveness and reconciliation. At his well-attended public funeral, Peggy proudly reveals to the townspeople for the first time that she is Mrs. Jimmy Ringo and sits next to Strett as her husband is buried. The film ends with a shot of a silhouetted, unrecognizable cowboy riding off into the sunset.

Cast

as Jimmy Ringo, the aging gunfighter known as the "fastest gun in the West" *

as Peggy Walsh, a schoolteacher and Ringo's secret wife *

as Marshal Mark Strett, a former outlaw and old friend of Ringo's *

Jean Parker Jean Parker (born Lois May Green; August 11, 1915 – November 30, 2005) was an American film and stage actress. A native of Montana, indigent during the Great Depression, she was adopted by a family in Pasadena, California at age ten. She ...

as Molly, a bar singer and former lover of Ringo's deceased comrade Buck Harris *

as Mac, the bartender at the Cayenne saloon *

Richard Jaeckel Richard Hanley Jaeckel (October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American actor of film and television. Jaeckel became a well-known character actor in his career, which spanned six decades. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominatio ...

as Eddie, a cocky young man whom Ringo kills in self-defense *

Skip Homeier George Vincent Homeier (October 5, 1930 – June 25, 2017), known professionally as Skip Homeier, was an American actor who started his career at the age of eleven and became a child star. Career Child actor Homeier was born in Chicago, Illino ...

as Hunt Bromley, a

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle des ...

and aspiring gunfighter who hopes to kill Ringo *

Anthony Ross Anthony Ross (born Rosenthal, February 23, 1909 – October 26, 1955) was an American character actor whose career extended to Broadway stage, television and film. Born in New York City, Ross was the son of Charles M. Rosenthal and Cora S. Rose ...

as Deputy Charlie Norris, a lawman serving under Strett *

Verna Felton Verna Arline Felton (July 20, 1890December 14, 1966) was an American actress, best known for providing many voices in numerous Disney animated films. She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law, Pearl Slaghoople in Hanna-Bar ...

as Mrs. August Pennyfeather, a prominent member of Cayenne high society who abhors Ringo's presence *

Ellen Corby Ellen Hansen Corby (June 3, 1911 – April 14, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. She played the role of Esther "Grandma" Walton on the CBS television series '' The Waltons'', for which she won three Emmy Awards. She was also ...

as Mrs. Devlin, one of Mrs. Pennyfeather's society friends * B. G. Norman as Jimmy Walsh, Jimmy and Peggy's Son (uncredited) *

Cliff Clark Cliff Clark (June 10, 1889 – February 8, 1953) was an American actor. He entered the film business in 1937 after a substantial stage career and appeared in over 200 Hollywood films. In the last years of his life, he also played in a numb ...

as Jerry Marlowe, an old man who believes Ringo murdered his son (uncredited) *

Alan Hale Jr. Alan Hale Jr. (born Alan Hale MacKahan; (March 8, 1921 - January 2, 1990) was an American actor and restaurateur. He was the son of actor Alan Hale Sr. His television career spanned four decades, but he was best known for his secondary lead role ...

, David Clarke and John Pickard as Eddie's Brothers (uncredited) *

Kim Spalding Kim Spalding (born Ross F. Latimer; December 7, 1915 – November 18, 2000) was an American film, television and theatre actor. Life and career Spalding was born in Washington, Missouri, the son of Ross Latimer. He began his film career in ...

as Clerk (his first role, uncredited)

Background

The film rights to ''The Gunfighter'' were originally purchased by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, which offered the Jimmy Ringo role to

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...

. Wayne turned it down, despite having expressed a strong desire to play the part, because of his longstanding hatred for Columbia's president,

Harry Cohn Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His father, Joseph Cohn, w ...

. Columbia subsequently sold the rights to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

, where the role went to Peck. Wayne's final film, ''

The Shootist ''The Shootist'' is a 1976 American Western film directed by Don Siegel and based on Glendon Swarthout's 1975 novel of the same name.Swarthout, Glendon (1975). ''The Shootist'', New York, New York: Doubleday. It is John Wayne's final film ro ...

'' (1976), is often compared to ''The Gunfighter'' and contains numerous plot similarities. The script was loosely based on the purported exploits of an actual western gunfighter named

Johnny Ringo John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882), known as Johnny Ringo, was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County ...

, a distant cousin of the outlaw Younger family and enemy of

Doc Holliday John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was an American Old West, American gambling, gambler, gunfighter, and dentistry, dentist. A close friend and associate of Sheriff, lawman Wyatt Earp, H ...

and the

Earp brothers Nicholas Porter Earp (September 6, 1813 – February 12, 1907) was the father of well-known Western lawmen Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan, and their lesser-known brothers James, Newton and Warren Earp. He was a justice of the peace, a farmer, ...

. As in the movie, Ringo sought a reconciliation with his estranged family, in California, in 1882; but unlike the film his conciliatory gestures were summarily rejected. After a ten-day alcoholic binge, he died of a gunshot wound, probably self-inflicted. Many of the circumstances and legends surrounding Johnny Ringo's life and adventures have been challenged in recent years. The film was directed by Henry King, the second of his six collaborations with Peck. Others included the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

film '' Twelve O'Clock High'' (1949), '' David and Bathsheba'' (1951), '' The Snows of Kilimanjaro'' (1952), ''

The Bravados ''The Bravados'' is a 1958 American Western film (color by DeLuxe) directed by Henry King, starring Gregory Peck and Joan Collins. The CinemaScope film was based on a novel of the same name, written by Frank O'Rourke. Plot Jim Douglass (G ...

'' (1958) and ''

Beloved Infidel ''Beloved Infidel'' is a 1959 DeLuxe Color biographical drama film made by 20th Century Fox in CinemaScope and based on the relationship of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sheilah Graham. The film was directed by Henry King and produced by Jerry Wald f ...

'' (1959). In the original ending, Hunt Bromley was arrested by the town marshal, but studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck was enraged at this resolution, so King and Johnson rewrote the final scene. The western street set seen in the film was also used in ''

The Ox-Bow Incident ''The Ox-Bow Incident'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews and Mary Beth Hughes, with Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell. Two cowboys arrive in a ...

'' (1943), starring

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

. The studio hated Peck's authentic period mustache. In fact, the head of production at Fox, Spyros P. Skouras, was out of town when production began. By the time he got back, so much of the film had been shot that it was too late to order Peck to shave it off and re-shoot. After the film did not do well at the box office, Skouras ran into Peck and he reportedly said, "That mustache cost us millions".

Reception

Aside from its Oscar nomination, the film was also nominated for a

WGA Award WGA may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Web Gallery of Art * Writers Guild of Alberta * Writers Guild of America, an American union ** Writers Guild of America, East ** Writers Guild of America, West Other uses: * Wagga Wagga Airport ...

for Best Written American Western. Writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

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."''

''Variety's'' website review says "There's never a sag or off moment in the footage...despite all the tight melodrama, the picture finds time for some leavening laughter. Gregory Peck perfectly portrays the title role, a man doomed to live out his span killing to keep from being killed. He gives it great sympathy and a type of rugged individualism that makes it real." Ronald Bergen says it "has gained in critical appreciation over the years and is now considered one of the all-time great westerns"

Stanley Kauffmann Stanley Kauffmann (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an American writer, editor, and critic of film and theater. Career Kauffmann started with ''The New Republic'' in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next fifty ...

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

described The Gunfighter as an 'excellent western'.

Awards

The film was nominated for Best Motion Picture Story for writers William Bowers and

during the 23rd Academy Awards. The award went to the husband and wife team of

Edna Anhalt Edna Anhalt (born Edna Thompson) was an American screenwriter, television writer, and film producer. Together with then-husband Edward Anhalt, she enjoyed some considerable success in a 10-year stretch from 1947 to her retirement in 1957. This st ...

and

Edward Anhalt Edward Anhalt (March 28, 1914 – September 3, 2000) was an American screenwriter, producer, and documentary filmmaker. After working as a journalist and documentary filmmaker for Pathé and CBS-TV, he teamed with his wife Edna Anhalt, one of ...

for '' Panic in the Streets''.

Legacy

Another version of the story appeared in 1957 in the series ''

The 20th Century Fox Hour ''The 20th Century Fox Hour'' is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title ' ...

'' entitled "The End of a Gun", with

Richard Conte Nicholas Peter Conte (March 24, 1910 – April 15, 1975), known professionally as Richard Conte, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from the 1940s through 1970s, including '' I'll Cry Tomorrow'', ''Ocean's 11'', and ''Th ...

in the role of Jimmy Ringo.

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

referenced scenes from ''The Gunfighter'' in his song "

Brownsville Girl "Brownsville Girl" is a song from Bob Dylan's 1986 album, '' Knocked Out Loaded'', recorded in May of that year. It is notable for its length, over 11 minutes, and for being co-written by playwright Sam Shepard. The song is a reworked version of ...

", co-written by playwright

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

. It appears on Dylan's 1986 release '' Knocked Out Loaded''. Peck paid tribute to Dylan's words when Dylan received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1997.

References

External links

* * * *
''The Gunfighter: You Can’t Go Home Again''
an essay by K. Austin Collins at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunfighter, The 1950 films Films directed by Henry King Films scored by Alfred Newman American Western (genre) films 1950 Western (genre) films American black-and-white films 20th Century Fox films Films set in the 19th century American historical films 1950s historical films Revisionist Western (genre) films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films