Not Rated | 1h 25min | Western | 1950
When I’d first heard of the 1950 Western, “The Gunfighter,” I immediately imagined a bunch of lawmen and outlaws drawing their six-shooters and blasting away at each other, either in tawdry saloons or standing in the middle street in some dusty town. But to my surprise, what I found instead was a completely different cinematic animal—a slow-burn character study about a man trying to run from his shady past, and perhaps turn his life around.
I also wasn’t expecting Gregory Peck to star in the lead role as apex gunslinger Jimmy Ringo, a man with a reputation so ferocious that people gape and stare at him wherever he winds up. Fortunately, Peck manages the character quite well since Ringo isn’t the young, thrill-seeking hothead he once was. On the contrary, Ringo, now in his mid-30s, has matured and only pulls his pistol when his life is threatened….