Winchester 73 [1950]

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Editorial reviews

Synopsis
Action-packed Western tale in which James Stewart appears as a frontiersman attempting to track down his father's murderer and the whereabouts of his one-of-a-kind rifle, the Winchester 73, as it passes among a rogue's gallery of owners.

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-03-16 rating:
Anthony Mann and James Stewart team up for WINCHESTER '73.The gun that won the West.
James Stewart's first Western was DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939) eleven years later he played the former army scout Tom Jeffords in BROKEN ARROW (1950). Directed by Delmer Daves, then came WINCHESTER '73. But it was Anthony Mann's WINCHESTER '73 that was given its public release first, which also revealed to the public a hitherto unknown harder-edged Stewart which was to continue with a series of Mann / Stewart Westerns culminating in THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955). Sadly they fell out in the early pre-production stages of NIGHT PASSAGE (1956) and never worked together again!

Produced by Aaron Rosenberg for Universal International. Fritz Lang had been originally earmarked as Director of WINCHESTER `73 but he wasn't available so Mann was chosen to direct his first Western. Robert L. Richards and Borden Chase wrote the screenplay from a story by Stuart N. Lake Beautifully shot in black & white with riders on the skyline images and night time campfire scenes reminiscent of John Ford's best work.

Lin McAdam (James Stewart) and his sidekick High-Spade Frankie Wilson (Millard Mitchell) ride into Dodge City on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally). McAdam befriends dance hall girl Lola Manners (Shelley Winters) who is about to run out of town by Wyatt Earp (Will Geer). He then finds himself up against Dutch Henry Brown in a 4th of July Centennial shooting match for a one-in-a-thousand Winchester Rifle Model 1873. Lin McAdam wins the contest and is presented with The Prize Winchester by Wyatt Earp. On returning to his hotel room Stewart is bushwhacked by the runner up (Dutch Henry Brown) who steals the rifle and beats a hasty retreat of town.

With McAdam and High-Spade in hot pursuit the rifle falls into the hands of various Western characters along the way, first it's gun-salesman Joe Lamont (John McIntyre) who losses it to Indian Chief Young Bull (Rock Hudson), then it's found by young Trooper Doan (Tony Curtis) who hands it to Sgt Wilkes (Jay C Flippen) who in turn gives it to Steve Miller (Charles Drake) then it's stolen by Waco Johnnie Dean (Dan Duryea) who surrenders it back to Dutch Henry Brown. Finally after a long drawn out chase McAdam catches up with Dutch Henry Brown for a spectacular final shoot-out on a mountain precipice.

Released by Universal Studios 2004 on DVD with the original theatrical Trailer and a unique one-and-only (audio) interview with James Stewart conducted over and above a latter-day private screening of WINCHESTER '73. They discuss the film, cast and other highlights of Stewart's career. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

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review by: The Film Flaneur date: 2006-12-20 rating:
Mann's first A movie is an first class act
One of the great Westerns, Winchester '73 is noteworthy film in many respects, not least because it marked the start of one of the great creative partnerships in the genre, that between director Anthony Mann and James Stewart. Mann had until this time been working successful in low budget films, crafting a series of B-noirs, which have a following on their own account today: titles such as T-Men (1947), Border Incident (1949) and Raw Deal (1948). 1950 brought his first big assignment with the current production, a film which many critics point to as marking the western's emergence into maturity during the decade.

It was also something of a career change for Stewart, whose many roles during his early career had been based around a friendly and frequently homespun persona. Only such films as the documentary noir Call Northside 777, of two years earlier, or odd moments during It's A Wonderful Life hinted at something darker, almost pathological, lurking beneath the amiable exterior. The series of Westerns made with Mann brought this something else to the surface; suddenly this was a dogged, vengeful Stewart, still playing honest men, but men who had often suffered a great wrong and were driven to put things right. (Hitchcock recognised this neurotic dimension to the actor as during the same period he also used him to great effect). Thus in The Man From Laramie (1955) the hero would have his livelihood burnt and be dragged behind a horse by a psychotic, while in Bend Of The River (1952) he is cast out to survive on his own from a wagon train.

As Lin McAdam in Winchester '73 he is already hunting someone who has wronged him: "...chasing him since I can't remember" and then, to add to it all, has a prize rifle stolen from him by his prey after an intense competition. The film focuses on the eponymous weapon as it passes through various hands and Stewart's parallel tracking of his human prey. In some ways his dogged perseverance reminds one of Ethan Edwards' in The Searchers (1956), where obsessive behaviour by a man searching for answers for matters as much internal as external also drives the plot.

McAdam's single-mindedness is a characteristic of many of Mann's Western heroes, a state of mind that approaches the unbalanced in The Naked Spur (1953). Of course McAdam is after getting back his rifle almost as much as he is after vengeance. Later films also feature the wandering weapon storyline - such as American Gun, or The Gun (1974) - the tale of a firearm passing through various hands provides a morality tale hedged around the prevalence of armaments. Winchester '73's central narrative thread has an entirely different purpose, one not generally concerned with social comment. When McAdam's gun is stolen the loss is seen in far more private, almost psychological terms, as if a piece of his personal honour is taken along with the rifle. In fact honour plays a large part in this film: it is either symbolically removed, as in the case of Dutch Henry Brown's early theft; much reduced as shown in the cowardice and subsequent humiliation of Charles Drake; or largely absent, as with the trader selling arms of questionable worth to the warring Indians. And of course besides McAdam's fury at the opening theft, what also drives him on is the dishonourable (because he's shot in the back by someone he trusted) loss of his father.

As critics such as Phil Hardy have noted, during the film McAdam encounters a series of potent father figures, such as Wyatt Earp, Sergeant Wilkes, and Lamont - the presence of who serves to echo and reinforce his own loss. To prove himself worthy of his late father in his own eyes, McAdams has to do is secure the something special he has lost and exact suitable vengeance. The look of the exhausted McAdam's face at the close of the film as he rejoins Lola (Shelley Winters) and his sidekick High Spade (Millard Mitchell) says it all.

In making Winchester '73, Mann was at last given the chance and the budget to make the most of his talents. His previous films had mostly been set amongst cramped and dangerous urban environments. Settling into a new genre he at once showed great response to landscape, and not just in the epic moments like the Indians' attack on Sergeant Wilkes' party. In many of his Westerns it is noticeable that the territory through which characters move is not just the geography of the west but also often a physical echo of the ongoing human drama, as exteriors reflect the emotional state of his characters. Thus at the start of the film we see McAdam moving through open vistas, before his first encounter set amidst the excited human clutter of Dodge. As events proceed, the landscape becomes more and more inhospitable until the film's climax fought out around and amidst bare rocks - a claustrophobic and harsh environment, aptly trapping the two adversaries in their uncompromising duel. Many traditional Westerns tended to save the psychological drama for interiors and the action, taken plain and simple, for outside. Mann's achievement was to resolve this pattern into something more subtle and expressive, opening the way for the deeper resonances in the genre which were to follow.

Winchester '73's plot, which involves several locations and a range of characters and events, could easily have proved episodic. Mann manages to draw all these elements together into a satisfying unity while still allowing the supporting actors to shine and do their thing. One standout is Dan Duryea, in an entirely characteristic performance as Waco Johnny Dean. Dean and Dutch Henry Brown (excellently done by the underrated Stephen McNally) provide excellent turns in villainy. There's a nice touch of symmetry too as the end draws near: McAdam, who had earlier been humiliated by Brown over a drink of milk back in Dodge, faces down Dean over another drink in the cantina.

The excellent DVD transfer shows the film in its best light, not least the splendid black and white photography. Mann rarely moves his camera, but instead shows mastery of composition within the frame and his direction of actors. The depth of focus benefits from the clear digital image, reproduced in the correct academy ratio. If this isn't enough to wet the appetite of any western fan, then there is an unmissable bonus. James Stewart recorded an interview commentary for the title when it appeared on laserdisc years back, and this is included - perhaps one of the very rare occasions that a representative of Hollywood's golden age appears in this way on a western DVD. (I can only otherwise think of Maureen O'Hara's commentary to the Region 1 special edition of Rio Grande.)

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review by: date: 2006-11-08 rating:
The first of the great Anthony Mann-James Stewart Westerns
Winchester `73 was the film that moved director Anthony Mann from the b-movies to the big league, rescuing James Stewart's floundering post-war career in the process by casting him as a conflicted hero (although since he inherited the project from Fritz Lang, maybe Lang deserves the credit for that). Both men would go to much darker places - Mann already had with the remarkably bleak Devil's Doorway, which remained shelved by MGM until the success of Broken Arrow convinced them to release it - but a movie about a man hunting down his own brother as the rifle of the title is handed from person to person along the trail before it ends up in one of the director's beloved mountainside shootouts is still stronger meat than you'd expect from the studio system. Great dialog, an impressive supporting cast - Dan Duryea, Will Geer, Millard Mitchell, Stephen McNally, Shelley Winters, Charles Drake, Tim McIntire, Jay C. Flippen, Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson among them - and Mann's outstanding visual sense raise the bar with this one.

Sadly, the print used for the DVD could stand some restoration, although there is an interesting audio interview with Stewart on the disc.



review by: date: 2001-01-14 rating:
WINCHESTER 73
One of the all time great westerns,made when the bad guys wore black hats and the good guys wore white hats. If you love westerns and could only see one this is the one to see. James Stewart as the good guy chasing his evil brother who killed their father is unmissable.

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Bend Of The River [1952]
The Man From Laramie [1955]
Broken Arrow [1950]
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Man Who Shot Liberty Valance [1962]

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Similar categories

Video . Video . Categories . Action & Adventure . Westerns
Video . Video . Categories . Classic Films . Actors . Stewart, James
Video . Video . Categories . Classic Films . Actors . Hudson, Rock
Video . Video . Categories . Classic Films . War Films & Westerns . 1950s
Video . Video . Refinements . Condition (condition-type)
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Action & Adventure . Westerns
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Classics . War and Westerns
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . U
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1950 - 1959
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . VHS

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