Winchester '73 (1950)

Thanks to a couple short western films I was able to sneak this one in as my last film in the war/western themed month. At almost exactly an hour and half it was a quick watch, and helped that I really liked it.

I initially gave this a 7/10 but it has really stuck in my mind and was so much different than other westerns [in a good way]. The film doesn't follow a person, it follows an object. The film starts by telling us about the first repeating rifle that "tamed" the west. The Winchester company makes and sells their guns in mass production, but the ones that test well on accuracy they sell at a premium. The gun in the story is called the "one in a thousand" and considered the best gun made that year. We then go to Dodge City where Wyatt Earp is mayor, they are having a rifle competition where this famed gun is the prize. Lin McAdams [James Stewart] wins the contest, but before he is able to safely get out of town he is jumped by Waco Johnnie Dean [Dan Duryea]. Dean loses it in a poker game and the gun is passed along over and over.

Not the biggest time commitment and a unique twist on your typical western film, I'm glad I got this one in before the end of the month.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043137/

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