When I think of Gregory Peck, I think of a lawyer; a sophisticated man about town; or a businessman, in a suit and tie. However, some of his greatest acting took place when he was wearing boots and spurs.
Director Henry King's spare black and white tale, The Gunfighter, is a case in point. In The Gunfighter, newly released on DVD by 20th Century Fox, Peck portrays the fictitious Jimmy Ringo, the "fastest gun in the west".
Conflict is introduced by the fact that Mr. Ringo is aging and is continually accosted by young men who want to claim his title. He wants to slow down, retire! Thus, Ringo drifts from town to town, the classical example of the hunted man with nowhere to lay his head.
As the film opens, Ringo is confronted by a young Richard Jaeckel, typical of the glory seekers. Harassed and tired as he may be, Ringo is not ready to die yet. Jaeckel joins a long line of men who have learned to their cost why Peck is still number one.
Ringo is a man on a mission; he is in town to see his estranged wife and young son, hoping for reconciliation. He enlists the aid of a man from his past, a sympathetic sheriff, played by Millard Mitchell, who reluctantly acts as go-between while Peck lies low in the back room of the hotel.
Peck meets his wife (Helen Westcott) and is introduced to his admiring son, but there is no resolution of their personal problems; Ringo the gunfighter must move on once again.
As Ringo turns to leave town he is ambushed by another young glory-seeker; I’ll let you see the ironic ending for yourself as it is different than most westerns but probably more true to life.
In addition to the above average story, the cast is very well chosen with Millard Mitchell and Karl Malden as the chief supporting cast to Gregory Peck who remains the center of attention for most of the running time. The rest of the supporting cast makes up the bar room hangers-on and the crowds who throng the streets for a glimpse of the fastest man alive.
The movie is presented in restored 4x3 black and white with dark cinematography by Arthur Miller who won 3 Academy Awards for his outstanding lensing. Alfred Newman, Fox’s resident composer provided the rousing score.
The Fox DVD is presented in 1.33:1 theatrical format in pristine quality video with an 85 minute running time.
Also recommended for viewers who like their westerns a little rare are The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers, and Red River, all starring John Wayne, and Winchester '73, starring James Stewart.
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