Winchester 73

When the film was first shown to test audiences, there were titters in the crowd when Jimmy Stewart's name appeared in the credits. "Mr. Smith" in a western? Shooting people? Please. By the end of the film, the tittering was all done and Stewart had established himself as a viable western hero (although in truth the magic of these Mann/Stewart westerns is that the characters Stewart plays are hardly "heroic." They are usually driven, neurotic men, nearly shifty-eyed, with a mean streak a mile wide - bitter men, and always very, very angry and eager to kill.

The basic set-up of this film is beautifully simple: Jimmy Stewart has a prize rifle stolen from him, a Winchester Model 1973 (which at the time the film takes place was state-of-the-art in the world of firearms), and he spends the rest of the movie hunting the man that stole it.

The story unfolds, however, as the movie rolls quickly along to something much more complex, culminating in one of the finest shootouts in movie history. The two principal actors of the film, James Stewart and Stewart McNally, spent a great deal of time practicing with their rifles (in Stewart's case Mann often found him walking around the set with bleeding knuckles, the results of his hours of self-training working the classic lever-action Winchester). Their hard work paid of in a tremendous realism.

Anthony Mann brought in cinematographer, William Daniels, for Winchester '73, a veteran who most notably had worked a great deal with Garbo in the 30's. Daniels brought his tremendous sense of lighting to the table to create one of the most beautiful looking Westerns of all time. Daniels' light, combined with Mann's unmatched visual sense, made things look nearly 3-demensional in their reality. When viewing this film, watch for the staggering long shots, or the scenes near dusk or at night. Pure texture and light - at once glamorous yet real.

This film also has my favorite depiction of aging Western legend, Wyatt Earp, the Law in Dodge, played with easy authority by Will Greer. Greer always offers his suggestions to town folks with a warm smile, as when he asks Stewart to give up his gun in an early scene. There is always a bit of steel in the old gunfighter's eyes, though, and folks always do just as he suggests. Quickly.

All in all a great treat and a must-have for any fan of the Western (or for that matter, any lover of movies). A true classic all the way. --Mykal Banta


Cain and Abel   June 10, 2004
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Along with a handful of other titles, this film is right at the summit of the great American Westerns ever made. It came entirely out of the blue as well. It was James Stewart's first serious Western (omitting "Destry Rides Again") and displayed a side of his character his Air Force buddies may have known about but precious few other people did. When Stewart threatens to break Dan Duryea's neck in a bar fight movie audiences must have been seriously taken aback. Doubly shocking is the fact that Stewart is out to gun down his outlaw brother for the murder of their father. Nor was Anthony Mann, the director, known for his Westerns, but this masterpiece simply could not be improved. The show is littered with great performances, especially John McIntire as the gun dealer, and Stewart sidekick Millard Mitchell, who made a huge impact in Hollywood during a very short career. Mitchell also appeared in "Twelve O'Clock High", "The Gunfighter", and "Singin' in the Rain" before dying of lung cancer in 1953.


Saved by the cast. Otherwise, only a fair movie   June 4, 2004
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Format: Black & White
Studio: Universal Studios
Video Release Date: May 6, 1992

Cast:

James Stewart ... Lin McAdam
Shelley Winters ... Lola Manners
Dan Duryea ... Waco Johnnie Dean
Stephen McNally ... Dutch Henry Brown
Millard Mitchell ... High-Spade Frankie Wilson
Charles Drake ... Steve Miller
John McIntire ... Joe Lamont
Will Geer ... Wyatt Earp
Jay C. Flippen ... Sgt. Wilkes
Rock Hudson ... Young Bull
John Alexander ... Jack Riker
Steve Brodie ... Wesley
James Millican ... Wheeler
Abner Biberman ... Latigo Means
Tony Curtis ... Doan
James Best ... Crator
Jack Curtis ... Bit part
Steve Darrell ... Bat Masterson
Robert Anderson ... Basset
John Doucette ... Roan Daley
Mel Archer ... Bartender
Jimmy Hawkins ... Boy at store window (first speech in film)
Timmy Hawkins ... Boy at Rifle Shoot
Carol Henry ... Dudeen
Gary Jackson ... Gary Jameson
Norman Kent ... Buffalo hunter
Ethan Laidlaw ... Station master
Ted Mapes ... Bartender
Gregg Martell ... Mossman (cavalryman)
Bill McKenzie ... Boy at rifle shoot
Jennings Miles ... Stagecoach driver
Norman Ollestad ... Stable boy
Larry Olsen ... Boy at rifle shoot
Bud Osborne ... Man
Ray Bennett ... Charles Bender
Chuck Roberson ... Long Tom
Forrest Taylor ... Voice of target clerk
Tony Taylor ... Boy
Ray Teal ... Marshall Noonan
John War Eagle ... Indian interpreter
Guy Wilkerson ... Virgil Earp
Duke York ... Man #1
Chief Yowlachie ... Indian at rifle shoot
Frank Chase ... Cavalryman
Edmund Cobb ... Target watcher
Frank Conlan ... Contest clerk in saloon
Virginia Mullen ... Mrs. Jameson
Bonnie Kay Eddy ... Bonnie Jameson

Not really a "history" of the famous old Winchester model 1873. It is more a story based on the rifles of that model referred to as "one of 1000". There were such rifles, highly sought after, and were used as a promotion stunt for prizes for the best shot in a particular area.

Stewart (Linn McAdam) was competing with, as it turns out, his brother, Stepfhen McNally (Dutch Henry Brown), an outlaw who had killed their father. Dan Duryea plays a "heavy" quite well, and Shelley Winters provides the love interest. Millard Mitchell is the faithfal companion, and Will Geer makes a believable Wyatt Earp, although in that stage of his real life he was a considerably younger man.

This is a pretty good Western, with all the elements: Indian battles, horse chases, shoot-outs with innocent women and children involved, purely evil bad guys, unbelievably good shooting by men (Stewart and McNally) who then turn around and, when it counts can't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside.

But, I liked the film. Probably because I like the cast. Duryea was always a great "bad guy", Stewart fit his part perfectly, and Winters did hers very well, as might be expected. When you get a good story, well acted by real professionals, the result, given good direction, is a good movie. Who needs color?

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

A bull's-eye for James Stewart   June 1, 2004
One of James Stewart's best films is this western classic, a revenge-and-pursuit adventure that involves a highly-prized Winchester '73 that changes hands several times before the dust settles and Lin McAdam reclaims his rifle. The film is about a family feud between brothers as much as the hunt for a stolen rifle, and has interesting vignettes such as the great Dodge City rifle shoot for the coveted Winchester, a rigged game of polka in which a man is swindled by a dishonest gun runner, one man's shameful act of cowardice in front of his fiancé, a determined and heroic stand by an outnumbered cavalry troop against Indians and a great mountaintop rifle duel that ends the movie. The black and white photography is crisp and clean and Technicolor would have been hard-pressed to produce better results. The supporting cast is great, especially Dan Duryea, Jay C. Flippen, and Will Geer.


Important Landmark Movie Negated By Shabby DVD Transfer   September 21, 2003
This movie is meant to be in Black & White, but comes across as muted greys, an extremely poor "restoration"? I cannot believe this movie HAS been "restored"! It is in very bad condition. It looks flat and grainy beyond belief, there are no pure blacks or pure whites, it looks to me like a television print, the visual "noise" is abominable, in one scene Dan Dureya's shirt erupts in a moire pattern so violent it almost hurts your eyes! The sound is good, I'll give you that. The inteview with Stewart is poor, the interviewer is obvioulsy reading off of a prepared list of questions and often fails to follow up on interesting points as he rushes to get to the next benal question.
Nope, this is another of those great lost opportunities whereby a landmark movie suffers at the hands of the distributors either too lazy or too mean to spend some money restoring the picture to it's original glory. The depth of focus is lost in the mud!!!
Shame on all those involved in this shabby release, it is NOT a fitting tribute to those who made and starred in the original. Don't waste your $$$$ on this DVD as you will be annoyed and frustrated, it is like looking at an old worn out VHS tape played through a knackered VCR on an old portable TeeVee in your kitchen. Instead badger your local Art House Cinema or Film Society to run it, get together some like minded friends,pool your resources, have yard sales, anything to raise the cash to pay to have it shown on the big screen..Just don't judge this movie by this lacklustre DVD, & to think you pay mre for a DVD as you expect it to be better quality than a VHS tape!