Winchester 73
Down through the years there have been a number of significant collaborations between directors and actors, such as Ford and Fonda, Ford and Wayne, and Huston and Bogart. In 1950 another such partnership was born, that of Anthony Mann and James Stewart. Their work together was to change the direction of both their careers, and produce some of the best cinema of the decade. Anthony Mann had made his reputation with a series of fine noirs in the last half of the 40s, but he had never done a western. Jimmy Stewart’s name had been built on the light leading man roles he excelled in before the war; with the exception of the comedic Destry Rides Again he was another relative stranger to the Old West. However, as a result of the success of Winchester 73 the names of both men would be forever linked to the oldest genre of them all. They went on to make eight films together, five of them westerns.
The story concerns Lin McAdam (Stewart) who arrives in Dodge City on July 4th 1876 and enters a sharpshooting contest presided over by none other than Wyatt Earp (Will Geer), Virgil Earp and Bat Masterson. The contest’s first prize is the famous rifle of the title, and it soon comes down to a run-off between McAdam and Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally). There’s clearly a history of bad blood between the two men, and when McAdam wins it’s not long before Dutch Henry robs him and makes off with the gun. The film then chronicles McAdam’s search for his stolen rifle, and his pursuit of the man who took it. But that’s really only a plot device, a kind of Hitchcockian McGuffin - something of greater significance to the characters than it is to the audience. While the gun is admired, valued and coveted by everyone who comes across it, it is not the sole, nor even the most important reason for McAdam’s dogged quest. This is a dark tale of revenge and the settling of old scores and, despite the dropping of a number of hints, the cause is not stated explicitly until the end.
Jimmy Stewart’s pre-war career consisted mainly of Mr Nice Guy roles, while the years following his return found him floundering around in search of a niche. Although It’s a Wonderful Life and Rope offered him roles with a greater complexity, Lin McAdam was a complete departure for him. This part, and subsequent ones with Mann, allowed him to display a cold ruthlessness that the public hadn’t seen before. In addition, he seems so completely at home in the saddle that it’s hard to believe this was his first serious western character. The film boasts a marvellous cast of character actors and up and coming talent: Stephen McNally and Dan Duryea (playing Waco Johnny Dean - lots of exotic character names in this movie) as villains, Shelley Winters as a luckless saloon girl, Millard Mitchell, John McIntire, Jay C. Flippen, and early parts for Tony Curtis and Rock Hudson.
The character of Wyatt Earp is really only incidental to the story here. His appearance is limited to the first twenty minutes or so and doesn’t add much to the narrative. Earp was an assistant marshal in Dodge at around the time the story takes place but the film suggests he was the principal lawman in the city. Will Geer portrays him as a folksy, down home type which seems at odds with the popular conception of the man. When McAdam challenges his authority early on, he fumbles around in his vest pocket for his tin star before almost sheepishly revealing his identity. One would have expected the real Earp to have kicked the upstart’s butt up and down the street.
Winchester 73 is a Universal release on DVD in R1 and R2, and it’s a fine looking disc. Not only is the transfer clean and tight, but there’s one fantastic extra. The film comes with a feature length scene specific commentary by Jimmy Stewart. I’m not usually one who gets too excited by extras in general, especially commentaries - but this kind of stuff is cinematic gold dust. Most of the stars of this period were long gone by the time the idea of recording commentaries occurred to anyone, so this is one to be treasured.
on April 18th, 2008 at 7:05 am
That’s a great screen capture of Stewart. It probably goes without saying, but I do hold this film as on the same level with The Searchers and Red River, even if I’m in the minority. Not to be disagreeable, but I sort of see Ford as creating the western as we know it and Mann revolutionizing it. He’s the speed bump between Ford and Peckinpah, in my mind. The Stewart collaborations are just incredibly underappreciated and absolutely vital works.
on April 18th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Thanks. I’m not sure you are in the minority - Anthony Mann’s stock has been steadily rising over the years, especially his western work with Jimmy Stewart.
I think he is still relatively undervalued, but I also think that most of those who appreciate the western are aware that he took the genre in a new direction - much as Ford had done with ‘Stagecoach’.
on April 18th, 2008 at 10:37 am
I think it goes without saying (but I’m gonna say it anyhoo) that the war was the watershed for the western; it changed the people who watched movies and the people that made them.
There’s a steel and an anguish to the post-war Jimmy Stewart that suggests that he’d gone through a life-changing experience (which he rarely talked about) and I think his Anthony Mann westerns, in particular reflect that.
There are plenty of ’speed bumps’ to be found in the genre, and while Leone and Peckinpah are often talked about in this respect, there’s no doubt Mann is particularly significant.
Stewart’s commentary is more of an extended interview wouldn’t you agree Colin? Fascinating stuff.
on April 18th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Yes John, you’re right that the commentary is actually an interview with Stewart. As far as I know it was done as he watched a screening of the movie - either way, it’s one of my favorite extras on any DVD and the kind of thing I wish had been done more often while there was still a chance.
Speaking of influential and genre defining stuff, I just wish Sony would get their finger out and release their Budd Boetticher movies - if only to expose a wider audience to what Randolph Scott was capable of on screen.
on May 12th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
This is my favourite of the Mann/Stewart westerns, even allowing for Rock Hudson as an Indian. Stephen McNally and Dan Duryea are great villains and Stewart’s performance is one of his best.
Like John (and no doubt many others) I’d love to see more of the Boetticher/Scott westerns on DVD. I’ve only seen Seven Men from Now (and that only recently) but I was very impressed with it.
on May 12th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Ian, if you enjoyed ‘Seven Men fron Now’ then I think you would have a great time with the other movies as, in many ways, it is maybe one of their lesser collaborations. That’s not to take anything away from what is a high quality western, rather it’s meant to emphasise the excellence of the rest of the Boetticher & Scott movies.
on May 13th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Not to go too far OT, but I recorded ‘The Tall T’ off C4 recently and it was a quite frankly gob-smacking presentation; an umarked print with gorgeous colours provided by Sony themselves which stokes up the anticipation for a mouth-watering DVD release. I just wish they’d get on with it.
on May 13th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Good news is never OT
Let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later. I have a hunch that Sony are at long last on the verge of doing something with their back catalog.
BTW John, I was sorry to read elsewhere about your recent bad luck - something like that’s always a rotten experience.
on May 13th, 2008 at 10:41 am
No, not an experience I would recommend; but then I think of Burma, or China and scold myself for self-pity over such a trivial matter. Mrs H has been to the gym and put that bit of extra effort into her ‘combat’ class…
BTW, I agree that ‘Canyon Passage’ is a truly terrific hidden gem of a western, and Andrews is surprisingly wonderful in it (I smile when watch him soak anything within touching distance in that opening sequence in the store; it’s a ‘Mr Muckle’ moment…).