Winchester '73 (1950)
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100% of critics liked it
(16 reviews) -
84% of users liked it
(5,144 ratings)
Lin McAdam (James Stewart) and his friend High-Spade (Millard Mitchell) arrive in Dodge City for a shooting contest, in which the prize is a perfectly manufactured Winchester repeating rifle, referred to as "One of a Thousand" -- a gun so fine that Winchester won't sell it. Lin runs… More Lin McAdam (James Stewart) and his friend High-Spade (Millard Mitchell) arrive in Dodge City for a shooting contest, in which the prize is a perfectly manufactured Winchester repeating rifle, referred to as "One of a Thousand" -- a gun so fine that Winchester won't sell it. Lin runs across Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally) in a saloon and the two would kill each other right there but for the fact that town marshal Wyatt Earp (Will Geer) has everyone's guns. Lin wins the rifle in an extraordinary marksmanship match-up with Brown, but the latter steals the prize from him and sets out across the desert. Thus begins a battle of wits and nerves, and a pursuit to the death. The roots and raw psychological dimensions of that chase are only exposed gradually, across a story arc that includes references to Custer's Last Stand, run-ins with marauding Indians, a heroic stand with a a shady but well-intentioned grifter (Charles Drake), and a meeting with murderous sociopath named Waco Johnny Dean (Dan Duryea), plus a romantic encounter with a young, golden-hearted frontier woman (Shelley Winters). All of these story lines eventually get drawn together neatly and gracefully by director Anthony Mann, who balances the violence of the events with a lyrical, almost poetic visual language. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Directed By
- Anthony Mann
- Written By
- Robert L. Richards, Borden Chase
- Genres
- Western, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jul 12, 1950 Wide
- Studio
- Universal Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
Stewart brings real flavor and appeal to the role of Lin, in a lean, concentrated portrayal.
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, Time Out
Mann's first film with James Stewart, with whom he was to make a series of classic Westerns, this offers the clearest example of Mann's use of the revenge plot.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
A frisky, fast-moving, funny Western in which a rifle is the apple of a cowboy's eye.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The final shoot-out remains a classic study in mise-en-scene, as Mann transforms a jagged landscape into a highly charged psychological battleground.
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Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
Winchester '73 is simply one of the finest Westerns ever made, in a class with the best of Ford and Hawks.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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James Stewart
as Lin McAdam
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Shelley Winters
as Lola Manners
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Dan Duryea
as Waco Johnny Dean the Kansas Kid
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Stephen McNally
as Dutch Henry Brown
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Charles Drake
as Steve Miller
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Rock Hudson
as Young Bull
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Tony Curtis
as Doan
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Millard Mitchell
as Johnny "High Spade" Williams
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John McIntire
as Joe Lamont
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Jay C. Flippen
as Sgt. Wilkes
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John Alexander
as Jack Riker
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Steve Brodie
as Wesley
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James Millican
as Wheeler
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Abner Biberman
as Latigo Means
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James Best
as Crator
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Bob Anderson
as Basset
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Mel Archer
as Bartender
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Ray Bennett
as Charles Bender
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Frank Chase
as Cavalryman
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Edmund Cobb
as Target watcher
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Frank Conlan
as Clerk
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Steven Darrell
as Bat Masterson
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John Doucette
as Roan Daley
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John War Eagle
as Indian interpreter
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Ethan Laidlaw
as Station master
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Ted Mapes
as Bartender
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Gregg Martell
as Mossman
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Virginia Mullen
as Mrs. Jameson
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Larry Olsen
as Boy at Rifle Shoot
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Bud Osborne
as Man
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Chuck Roberson
as Long Tom
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Forrest Taylor
as Target Clerk
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Ray Teal
as Marshal Noonan
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Guy Wilkerson
as Virgil
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Chief Yowlachie
as Indian
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Carol Henry
as Dudeen
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Tim Hawkins
as Boy at Rifle Shoot
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Bonnie Kay Eddy
as Betty Jameson
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Bill McKenzie
as Boy at Rifle Shoot
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Tony Taylor
as Boy
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Will Geer
as Wyatt Earp
