Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Here's what happens: you get a Jimmy Stewar bio on Kindle- next thing you know, you are on Amazon, hunting down the DVD titles they discuss extensively in the book, movies you haven't seen since the 25 cent cinemas decades ago.This was wonderfully filmed in black & white (still popular in 1950) with style & 'framing' by Director, Anthony Mann, who collaborated with Stewart on several post-war flicks that helped Jimmy get his film career back on track after 4 years (WWII) in the Armed Services. The entry is enhanced by a superb voiceover track of Stewart being interviewed about the scenes (and his career) for the later Laserdisc release. Make sure the copy you order has this feature. Stewart was a fine raconteur, giving lots of background on this film (his horse, Pie & his training at handling the rifle) and others (he relates how Hitchcock shot a scene in a later movie, scrapping 2 pages of dialogue Jimmy had struggled to memorize, doing it in pantomine instead).Great contributions from some fine character actors (Dan Duryea is a loonie criminal) are rendered, with a young Rock Hudson kicking in as a warring Indian chief. A young, (thin) Shelley Winters adds the brief romantic aspect quite capably (unrecognizable from Poseidon Adventure). Above all, Jimmy stretches a bit in his role as a wronged brother who also starts a quest to re-acquire the prized rifle stolen abruptly from him at the outset of the story.

I didn't really grow up with Westerns, but an early fascination with Clint Eastwood had me discovering them in a big way. I have always compared the genre of Westerns to Chocolate Chip Cookies (bare with me now on this analogy.) It doesn't matter who makes them, as long as they have the right ingredients they are near perfect. It takes an awful lot to make a "bad" Western and I can't even think of one at the moment. It always helps when you find a particular Western star that you love (Lee Marvin, Eastwood, John Wayne...Jimmy Stewart.) Winchester '73 isn't just any chocolate chip cookie, its one of the greats. Personally I wouldn't put it in league with Sergio Leon's Dollars trilogy or some of Eastwood's better ones but only because it doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table. What it does bring is every single aspect of a great Western to the table all around the legend of a perfect gun that is being passed from person to person while one man searches for it and his nemesis. The shoot outs are fantastic, dark and even gory in a few spots. The performances range from good to great and there is no shortage of action. The film opens in the legendary Dodge City and Wyatt Earp and his crew are there too. It just feels right as a Western! The legendary James Stewart is our hero and the a great Western cowboy. Lin McAdam is tough as nails, a perfect shot and the ultimate cowboy. Perhaps the only issue is that Stewart doesn't get enough scenes in the movie. Yes he is the star but he's probably only in 2/3 of the film and that isn't enough for my taste and McAdam could have gotten a lot more great scenes. Still he is amazing as he almost always is. This character is a terrific turn for him as a tough guy and he pulls it off well. As Stewart said in his own words about McAdam, the character is emotional and vulnerable. Shelley Winters is decent as wild west gal Lola Manners. She is spirited and fiery and fun to watch. Its not a great performance but its certainly a good one. Her chemistry with Stewart is okay but nothing amazing. She plays a much bigger part in the latter part of the film and does well at it. Stephen McNally is Stewart's sworn enemy that he is chasing through the dusty wild west. McNally is terrific as a villain and the chemistry between him and Stewart is perfect. Their adversarial relationship is legendary and you know its going to come to a huge battle in the end. Dan Duryea also deserves mention as McNally's right hand man and number one goon. He makes for a great villain as well and is particularly good opposite Winters in their scenes.I would love to see this on the big screen someday because it is just insanely fun. It has everything you would expect from a classic Western from its opening scenes at the shooting competition to the closing and epic finale shootout between the two enemies. The twist to the story isn't exactly a huge shock, I sort of saw it coming but it still made a terrible finale. Early Hollywood directors always seem to direct a hundred pictures before their death but you still have to give credit where its due and Anthony Mann crafts a terrific story. The only reason it isn't a perfect score is perhaps because it really doesn't try to be anything out of the box of a cookie-cutter Western. But there is also NOTHING wrong with that. Don't even take that as a criticism because if you're a Western fan or even looking to introduce classic Westerns to a new generation, this is one for the ages. A terrific non-stop wagon ride. 8.5/10

This classic western opens with protagonist Lin McAdam and his friend High-Spade riding into Dodge City hoping to run into an outlaw by the name of 'Dutch Henry' Brown. They do run into each other in the saloon; it is clear that they want to kill each other as they both instinctively reach for their runs forgetting that the sheriff had impounded all sidearms. To celebrate the countries centenary there is a shooting competition to win a prized 'one in a thousand' Winchester rifle; inevitable when it is down to two men Lin and Dutch end up competing for it. Lin wins but Dutch and two friends steal it and flee town. Having left in a hurry they have left their pistols behind and have no ammunition for the rifle so are forced to gamble the rifle; he loses it to an Indian trader. It seems nobody is destined to keep it for long though as he in turn is soon killed by Indians. Meanwhile Lin and High-Spade are following Dutch; after a run in with the Indians they take shelter with the cavalry and a man and woman. When the Indians attack Lin shoots and kills the one carrying the prized rifle but he leaves before it is found. The rifle will pass through more hands before in eventually returns to Dutch... just in time for the climactic shootout between Lin and Dutch.This could easily have been another in a long line of B Westerns if it hadn't been for James Stewart's excellent performance as Lin McAdam... the story of a man out for revenge may be cliché and the way the rifle passes from owner to owner till it gets back to where it belongs may be far fetched but that doesn't matter because the story is so well told. Stewart isn't the only one putting in a good performance; Stephen McNally is suitably menacing as Dutch, Millard Mitchell is likable as High-Spade and Shelley Winters does a good job as love interest Lola Manners; a woman passed on almost as much as the rifle! This may be in black and white but it is none the worse for that; the monochrome image having a sharpness that colour tends to lack. There is a decent amount of action and some tense moments when it seems violence could erupt at any moment. The final shoot out lasts longer than I expected but managed to keep the tension high as Lin and Dutch shoot it out amongst rocky terrain. If you are a fan of westerns this is certainly one you shouldn't miss.

This was the first movie in which a major star eschewed any salary, settling instead for a take of the nut. It was also the first collaboration between Jimmy Stewart and Anthony Mann in Westerns, in which Mann was to draw out the rage behind Stewart's amiable presentation of self, of which heretofore there had only been prodromal symptoms.Stewart is Lin McAdam and Stephen McNally is Dutch Henry Brown in the post Civil War West. They are at odds with each other. You can tell long before the final reveal which one is the instigator because Lin McAdam is a "good" name while "Dutch Henry Brown" sounds like the color scheme of some camouflage pattern designed for use in combat that takes place in fertilizer warehouses. In case there's any doubt, McNally is dressed in sloppy clothes that don't look simply dusty but actually black with grease, as if he'd just crawled out from beneath a car. He needs a shave too.Stewart wins a prize Winchester at a shooting match in Dodge City but McNally bops him over the head and takes off with the rifle. The movie consists of watching Stewart pursue McNally's bad guy all over the Southwest, and of watching the rifle change hands multiple times.There is a foiled bank robbery in Tascosa, Texas, which is now a ghost town. (Be sure to visit the ghostly court house.) Actually it was filmed amid the crumbling adobe, the saguaro and ocotillo of Old Tucson, Arizona. The final, inevitable shoot out between Lin and Dutch Henry takes place among high, rocky crags. A ton of lead is exchanged between the two expert rifle shots. You have never seen so many bullets fly between two men. And the misses are extremely close, sometimes only an inch or two. You may wonder how this illusion is achieved. It's done by a man just out of camera range shooting what looks like a child's toy gun, loaded with pellets made of dust.The supporting cast is made up of names and faces that are now easily recognized if they weren't before. Black and white photography can be extremely expressive in the right hands, used for the right movies, but this isn't one of them. William Daniels has done good work elsewhere but this should have been in color.