Winchester '73 (1950)

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Decent revenge-themed Western centering on a Winchester 1873 rifle; Lin McAdam (James Stewart) wins it in a shooting competition, only for his nemesis Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally) to steal it from him. The rifle changes hands half a dozen times, so the film jumps disjointedly from one character to another, until finally returning to McAdam and Brown's final shootout.

Stewart plays McAdam with a hard edge that's a nice change from his usual geniality, and the rest of the cast, notably Dan Duryea as Waco Johnnie Dean, are outstanding. The film is thematically quite sophisticated, and beautifully shot, but there's more there to like than to love.

- Sam - 2006-12-07 15:07:49