WINCHESTER ‘73

This is the first of five Westerns directed by Anthony Mann starring James Stewart, and although I haven’t seen them all (yet) I would be surprised if this isn’t the best.

Mind you it gets off to a sedate start with an opening caption screen that tells us how great the Winchester ‘73 rifle was, followed by a shooting contest to win one of these rifles. 

The contest comes down to Lin McAdam (James Stewart) versus Dutch Henry (Stephen McNally), who clearly know and hate each other. Their relationship goes further south when Dutch steals the rifle from Lin after the latter has won it fair and square.

This then launches us into the film proper in which we follow the rifle’s journey from one owner to another, all the while knowing that the film must inevitably end with Lin catching up with Dutch.

One of the pleasures here is the skill with which the screenplay, cowritten by Borden Chase and Robert L Richards creates fully fleshed supporting characters, from Will Geer's Wyatt Earp, to John McIntire's smooth-talking Indian trader, to Shelley Winters' dancehall girl, to Charles Drake as the inadequate fiancé she is prepared to marry, to Jay C Flippen's veteran cavalry sergeant, to Dan Duryea's crazy gunslinger.

Shelley Winters in particular is very good as a brave, warm-hearted, smart-talking woman who is looked on by many as simply an object of lust. 

The cast also includes a young Rock Hudson as a highly unlikely Indian chief, Young Bull,  and Tony Curtis in a very small role which is so early in his career that he is credited as ‘Anthony Curtis’.

The black-and-white cinematography is by William H Daniels who made his name shooting Greta Garbo closeups but here shows he can equally well shoot stunning landscapes and thrilling action sequences.