Film Review: Winchester '73 (1950)
James Stewart is considered to be one of the greatest Hollywood actors of the 20th century. His greatness can be seen in the way he successfully redefined his screen image at the very top of his career. He earned stardom in the 1930s and 1940s by playing the squeaky-clean all-American boy, but he always dreamed of taking on more complex and demanding roles. When the opportunity came with Winchester ‘73, a 1950 film directed by Anthony Mann, Stewart seized it and delivered not only a history-changing performance but also contributed to one of the classics of the western genre.
The title refers to the Winchester Model 1873, a repeating rifle that is one of the most iconic weapons in history and is also known as the “Gun That Won the West.” Its success was such that its producer, Winchester Repeating Arms Company, introduced the “One of the Thousand” series in 1875, featuring special engravings that, due to their quality and rarity, became some of the most coveted items in the West. One such rifle is the subject of the plot, which begins in Dodge City on July 4th, 1876, when the town is celebrating its Centennial with a marksmanship competition, the winner of which would receive “One of the Thousand” as a prize. The protagonist, played by Stewart, is Lin McAdam, a man who comes to Dodge City with his friend “High Spade” Frankie Wilson (played by Millard Mitchell) while tracking outlaw Dutch Henry Brown (played by Stephen McNally), with whom he has a very personal score to settle. The two men meet, but thanks to the town’s legendary marshal Wyatt Earp (played by Will Geer), who demands that all newcomers hand over their weapons, they will have to fight elsewhere. Instead, they compete for the rifle. Lin wins, but Dutch steals it and escapes the town. Lin continues to pursue him, but in the meantime, the weapon will repeatedly change hands, usually bringing misfortune to those who possess it. Some of these incidents are witnessed by Lola Manners (played by Shelley Winters), a dance hall girl who, like the rifle, becomes an object of contention between various men.
Winchester ‘73 paved its path to the status of a classic through the imaginative script of Borden Chase and Robert L. Richards. The iconic weapon is used as an effective narrative device that not only enhances a relatively simple revenge plot but fills it with vignettes that bring almost all iconic genre tropes into the film—outlaws, lawmen, Indians, and the US Cavalry. The script also effectively blends fiction with history—the latter being represented by mentions of characters like General Custer and Buffalo Bill, and the actual appearance of Wyatt Earp, although middle-aged Will Geer wasn’t the best choice to portray the legendary lawman, who was only 28 when the plot takes place—something even Geer had his misgivings about. This well-thought-out structure is served well by the incredibly effective direction of Anthony Mann, who was, until that time, mainly a B-film director known for film noir, and whose debut in the western genre represented a triumph of simplicity. Mann finds the right balance between character development and action, the latter being depicted with a level of realism that was quite high for mid-20th-century Hollywood standards. The final showdown, which is physically and emotionally demanding for the participants despite them not meeting each other directly, is a good example of this realistic approach. Winchester ‘73 looks very modern despite its black-and-white cinematography and sometimes too obvious use of the “day for night” technique.
This approach was tailor-made for Stewart, who fought very hard to get the role of Lin McAdam. It allowed Stewart to discard his old image and play a character driven by a simple and relentless desire for revenge. Lin McAdam spends almost the entire film hardly suppressing his anger, and when this anger erupts, it is through an act of violence that, although justifiable in the context of a western, looks shocking to viewers accustomed to the idealistic protagonist of It’s a Wonderful Life. The result is a surprisingly dark role, which paved the way for Stewart to play more complex and multi-dimensional characters. Stewart prepared for this role very thoroughly, which included training in marksmanship and the physical skills necessary for the final showdown. Stewart easily outshone many other members of the cast, such as Stephen McNally, who was solid but not as memorable as a villain, and Shelley Winters, who later publicly pondered whether her character was necessary. Supporting players were much better, like Jay C. Flippen as a US Cavalry sergeant and Dan Duryea as an outlaw who briefly appears even more villainous than Dutch. The cast also includes two young actors who would become big stars in the 1950s—Rock Hudson as an Indian chief and Tony Curtis (here credited as Anthony Curtis) in the role of a cavalryman.
Winchester ‘73 became important in the history of Hollywood because Universal Pictures, unable or unwilling to pay Stewart his regular salary, opted instead to pay him a percentage of the box office receipts. This practice, which would later become common for the biggest Hollywood stars, was something quite new but turned out to be a wise decision for Stewart, who made good money thanks to the film’s surprisingly strong box office results. This allowed Stewart to continue experimenting with darker and more complex roles, which would result in some of the iconic thrillers by Alfred Hitchcock. Stewart was so pleased with Mann that he worked with him on seven more films, five of them being westerns.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo
InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo
Unstoppable Domains: https://unstoppabledomains.com/?ref=3fc23fc42c1b417
Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax y
Bitcoin Lightning HIVE donations: https://v4v.app/v1/lnurlp/qrcode/drax
Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax
1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
Posted using CineTV