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Created Aug 13, 2012 12:28AM PST • Edited May 15, 2024 06:25PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   Classic Westerns come no more accomplished than Winchester ’73. It ably weaves a tale around “The Gun that Won the West,” the Winchester 1873. This Precious changes hands almost as often as My Precious in Lord of the Rings, making it a strong if inanimate story vehicle.

   Complexity? Not so much, though plenty for the story. That said, a great star and great direction make Winchester ’73 a classic and a must-see Western, albeit not a great movie. For Western fans, that’s enough.

4. Acting

   Very Good 3.5

   Jimmy Stewart (he’s always Jimmy to me) plays a tough Civil War veteran ten years after the great conflagration. Shelley Winters – still with a figure – plays a tough but tender dance hall girl. Classics.

   • Tony Curtis – billed Anthony Curtis – plays an Army private. It was Curtis’s first role in a big-budget movie.
   • Rock Hudson – billed Rock Hudson – plays a Sioux Chief. Yeah, 1950 was Big Wampum time in Hollywood.
   • Millard Mitchell plays Stewart’s saddle-buddy, name of High Spade. Little remembered today, Mitchell deserves better, especially after his high spirited turn in Singin’ in the Rain.

   The villains don’t deserve to be remembered, nor the actors playing Wyatt and Virgil Earp, let alone Bat Masterson.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

6. Female Stars Very Good 3.5

7. Female Costars Good 3.0

8. Male Costars Good 3.0

10. Film

    Good 3.0

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play OK 2.5

13. Music Good 3.0

14. Visuals Good 3.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 1.6

    Challenging stuff for 1950

17. Sex Innocent 1.2

18. Violence Fierce 1.9

19. Rudeness Salty 1.7

21. Reality

    Surreal 2.2

    Set in Dodge City, Kansas and a cliche Western desert, it was shot in Arizona and Hollywood. 1950 again. Thus the surreal Circo and Physio Reality.

    Then there’s the real Winchester ’73. “The rifle variation used a 24” barrel, while the carbine used a 20" barrel. The carbine was the most popular due to its portability, as well as allowing its users to conveniently carry one type of ammunition for both their rifles and pistols. Winchester produced over 720,000 carbines, making them hugely popular and readily available on the frontier. This popularity has led the Model 1873 to be credited as “The Gun that Won the West”. The legend inspired the 1950 Western film Winchester ’73 starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Anthony Mann." – Wikipedia

22. Circumstantial Surreal 2.5

23. Biological Glib 2.0

24. Physical Surreal 2.1