Directed by Henry King
Starring Gregory Peck, Helen Wescott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden, Skip Homeier, Anthony Ross
Criterion has announced the October release of one of the absolute key Westerns of the 50s, Henry King’s The Gunfighter (1950).
This is one of those movies that introduced a theme that’s been ripped off so often, we have a hard time understanding how fresh and innovative the film really was. In the case of The Gunfighter, it’s so good, we can always appreciate it for that. That theme, of course, is the gunman who wants to hang up his guns and live a normal life — here, he has a wife and son to reconnect with. There have been dozens of variations on that idea since, but this is where it came from.
You can always expect a sterling transfer from Criterion, along with a healthy stack of supplemental stuff. They do a terrific job on whatever they take on. The Gunfighter is essential (it gets a chapter in my 50s Westerns book, by the way), and I’d consider the Criterion disc just as essential.
Thanks to everybody who sent in the news!
This is wonderful news; The Gunfighter is one of the five or six best westerns ever; it is flawless & no doubt Criterion’s extras will add quite a bit to our appreciation.
Great sleeve design, also like the use of the original main titles with the new art.
This is a good film and I’ll add this to my collection when it gets released.Correct me if I’m wrong but I presume it’s about Johnny Ringo,because in the film he’s called Jimmy.Like a lot of films,it’s probably not very historically correct.According to Wikipedia ,no one seems to know how he died or by whom .I don’t mean to be picky here,but I wonder how well the producers did their research.Anyway,who cares,as Toby said this is one of the key westerns of the 50s and Gregory Peck was terrific as Ringo.
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Having trouble with it again, John?
Yep! for some reason it comes up that
I have a WordPress account which I don’t have
and sign out of but then I cannot post,I encounter
similar problems over at Colin’s as do others I believe.
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WordPress Gremlins strike again….here goes for a second time.
I already have the Explosive Media Blu Ray which got a rave review on
DVD Beaver but I’m gonna have to double dip here for the cover art
alone plus of course the extras.
There are very films that i would high def double dip on but THE
GUNFIGHTER is an exception.
Peck never better and the supportring cast is sublime plus the fact the
film improves with each viewing.
For me THE GUNFIGHTER surpasses HIGH NOON.
It would seem that the rumor that there would be no more Fox
releases on disc with the Disney merger is untrue or better “Fake News”
Another Fox classic that needs a proper restoration or better still the
Criterion treatment is THE STREET WITH NO NAME.
In the mis 60’s in the UK Fox double billed THE GUNFIGHTER with
THE STREET WITH NO NAME at their second string West End cinema
The Rialto. I had never seen either film before so I guess it must have
been for me my best double bill ever.
..
Toby, this is really good news that THE GUNFIGHTER(filmed 1949, released 1950) is going to receive the Criterion treatment. This Western has been a favorite of mine ever since I first saw it on the Channel 3 WREC-TV Memphis, Tennessee EARLY MOVIE back in the late 1960’s. It is a Western Classic Movie.
Graham, I doubt if the original screenplay written by William Bowers and William F. Sellers, from a story by Bowers and Director Andre De Toth, had anything to do with the real John Peters Ringo(1850-1882). I’ve never read where the screenwriters ever said that it did. They may have read accounts of the real John Ringo in Walter Noble Burns’ TOMBSTONE: AN ILIAD OF THE SOUTHWEST(1927), where Ringo was given a whole chapter. This is the chapter where the line, “I’m your Huckleberry” came from. Also, Stuart N. Lake’s WYATT EARP: FRONTIER MARSHAL(1931), but I think they just liked the name Ringo. It just sounds and reads like a cracker jack of a name for a gunfighter or outlaw.
Screenwriter Dudley Nichols used the name the Ringo Kid(John Wayne) in STAGECOACH(1939). In the short story “Stage to Lordsburg” written by Ernest Haycox in COLLIER’S MAGAZINE(April, 1937), on which the movie was based, there was no Ringo Kid. The part of the Ringo Kid is based on Haycox’s Malpais Bill. Now which name is better suited for movies, book titles, articles, and songs?
As Graham says, “Anyway, who cares.” I whole mindfully agree with Toby and Graham that THE GUNFIGHTER is one of the absolute key Westerns of the 1950’s.
Here is the the song that reached #1 on the USA Billboard charts on December 5, 1964.
Walter,just a thought,when we watch the film we probably presume it’s about Johnny Ringo,or at least I did .The fact that the screen writers never said that it had nothing to do with him,may have been to protect themselves in case his relations said “hey,this is incorrect”. I’ve always thought the ending was sad after he is shot and he rides off on his horse never to return.
Graham, good thought, and now that I think of it, John Ringo had three sisters. One lived into the 1930’s and two into the 1940’s. Also, the movie makers who wanted to do the Wyatt Earp story, had to deal with Wyatt’s widow Josie(Wyatt called her Sadie). She was a handful, always ready to sue. She died in 1944.
I agree it was a sad ending, but Jimmy Ringo knew how to deal with Hunt Bromley(Skip Homeier) didn’t he, and what a good actor Homeier is. There is a thread leading from THE GUNFIGHTER to an episode of THE VIRGINIAN TV series. “The Brazos Kid”(10/24/64) with Skip and Della Sharman Homeier. This episode is worth watching.
Walter ,I looked up THE BRAZOS KID and it turns out that Barbra Eden was in it .This was right after she starred in one of my favourite movies,RIDE THE WILD SURF which was directed by one of my favourite actors ,Don Taylor.I read where he had to go back to the States because his mother died and someone else took over while he was away.
Graham, right you are about Barbara Eden being in this episode of THE VIRGINIAN. She was good as the sensationalist journalist who stirs up trouble by claiming that the Virginian(James Drury) is the famed Brazos Kid.
Yes, do I remember RIDE THE WILD SURF(1964)! I first remember seeing this really good 1960’s surf movie on THE ABC WEDNESDAY NIGHT MOVIE in 1967. I really enjoyed these fun movies of that era and I still do. Barbara Eden proved that she had a beautiful navel in this movie. Remember she wasn’t allowed by the TV censors to show her navel on I DREAM OF JEANNIE(1965-70). although if my memory serves me right, her navel was shown in the fourth season.
Barbara got to show off her judo skills in RIDE THE WILD SURF. In real life she has a black belt and is a champion. Barbara Eden such a talented and beautiful actress. She is still very much with us and working.
Director Phil Karlson filled in for Don Taylor. Karlson had directed Tab Hunter in GUNMAN’S WALK(filmed 1957, released 1958).
Walter,Peter Brown who was also in this film starred in THE VIRGINIAN.Jan & Dean were supposed to be in the film but were dropped because a friend of Dean’s kidnapped Frank Sinartra Jnr.According to Wikipedia ,they were replaced by Tab Hunter and Peter Brown.Jan & Dean’s song remained.
Graham, you keep triggering my memory. Yes, Peter Brown guest starred on NBC-TV’s THE VIRGINIAN. Fact is the 1964-65 season finale actually served as the pilot for NBC-TV’s LAREDO(1965-67). The episode is “We’ve Lost a Train” which first aired on April 21, 1965. This 76 minute backtrail pilot has a strong cast put together: Doug McClure, Neville Brand, Peter Brown, William Smith, Philip Carey, Rhonda Fleming, Ida Lupino, Fernando Lamas, Alberto Morin, and Reben Moreno. They all turn in entertaining and lively performances, and there is plenty of action, japing, and geehawing danger to make sure it is never boring. In an interview, Peter Brown said they had a great time filming this episode.
This is one of my favorite episodes of THE VIRGINIAN and I think it is well worth watching,