Winchester 73

Two greats, Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart, team up to deliver this two-fister about an obsessed man tracking a killer from his own past while his friend Millard Mitchell does his best to keep him from going over the edge. Shelly Winters does a nice turn as the poor gal. Stephen McNally is oily as the main bad guy, and Dan Duryea comes off like Johnny Udo (from the original Kiss Of Death) in chaps.

The story really heats up when Stewart wins a shooting contest in which Wyatt Earp officiates (watch for the postage stamp across the nickel - some heroic marskmanship here) and gets his prized Winchester rifle stolen for his trouble. The Winchester does a hot potato act between badmen and Indians (Rock Hudson shows up as a war chief, in a scene where Tony Curtis dons the blue wool as a cavalry buck), and finally winds up in a climactic, hair raising shootout in a jumble of rocks above the desert. You can FEEL the bullets whizzing by.

Especially love the scene where Lin encounters Waco Johnnie Dean (read: Johnny Udo)in a bar and displays a decided lack of patience for the young bad man's showboating... There aren't many places to find good old Jimmy Stewart coming off harder (but do try `Flight Of The Phoenix'...wow!).

PS - This DVD is a good buy - the print they used tends to be a little less than pristine here and there, but it has got a commentary track with Jimmy Stewart on it! How did they do this? It seems Jimmy might have been watching the Laserdisc. His anecdotes about the old studio system and incites into acting are great. Especially like the stories about his hat (used in various westerns for twenty years) and horse, Pie (same as above).

"Huh...this laser thing is very interesting..." Jimmy Stewart.

Great suprise. Great DVD.


Cain and Abel   June 10, 2004
8 out of 8 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.


Added Bonus   May 8, 2003
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

As usual, some of these big studio DVD releases don't adequately advertise what they have. Hey, they could only sell more. I guess they have something against that.

Winchester '73 is one of my favorite westerns, and I rushed out the first day to buy the DVD. Universal has done a great job -- good restoration, very reasonably priced. But there is one gem that isn't apparent until after you buy it. Not mentioned on the front cover, on the back cover an extra is advertised in small print -- "interview with James Stewart". I was thinking it would just be a few minute interview. Instead, it turns out to be a full-fledged audio commentary -- really insightful. I have no idea when it was recorded -- perhaps for a Laserdisc release? -- but this is something that should be advertised prominently.

Although it doesn't appear that the other great Anthony Mann-Jimmy Stewart westerns released concurrently -- "Bend of the River" and "The Far Country" -- have such bonuses, I look forward to buying them as well. At least they are much less priced than the Mann-Stewart "Man from Laramie," a very good film that is very highly priced by -- Columbia, is it?

Now we just need "The Naked Spur," a true masterpiece, to come out in a restored version.

Enjoy "Winchester '73"!


Perfect!   January 27, 2001
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

From beginning to end, this film has no flaws. This is due, first of all, to Anthony Mann direction. The story, very simple in its basic motivations, follows through very gently, with each scene deeply crafted. The editing correctly helps for that matter. The cinematography is nothing but marvelous. The whole film is a feast to the eyes. And then there's James Stewart and his not-so-tough manner, trying to protect not-so-innocent Shelley Winters, to deal with his hated brother Stephen McNally, who's not-so-bad, and to retrieve his so-beloved rifle. And, as if it was not enough, there's a twist of secondary plots and interesting characters that all help to take that rifle a little bit away from Jimmy since the very beginning. Maybe it's not a simple story. A great screenplay with wonderful dialogues takes care of that perversed fairy tale. Anthony Mann is, I insist, the responsible. He made this film in 1950. Also from this year is "The Furies", with Barbara Stanwick and Walter Huston, which is, incredibly enough, better than Winchester '73.