Did You Know?
The filmmakers did not have the budget to pay James Stewart his requested fee of $200,000, so he suggested they take the then-unusual step of paying him a cut of the profits instead. This deal, the first of its kind since the advent of talkies, would soon become the norm and change the studio-agent-actor relationship, leading to the demise of the long-term contract and the studio system. Stewart is believed to have made around $600,000 from this film.
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On the laserdisc and DVD, James Stewart gives audio commentary about the making of the movie. It was the only such commentary he ever did.
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Although Millard Mitchell's character says that his name is spelled with a hyphen, the end credits still spell "High Spade" with no hyphen.
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Fritz Lang was originally slated to direct this movie. When he backed out, James Stewart recommended Anthony Mann. In the early 1930s Stewart had worked with Mann in the theater.
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In the famous scene where James Stewart shoots a bullet through the washer with the postage stamp...that is not Hollywood magic. The shot is performed successfully by renowned marksman Herb Parsons.
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At the time of filming, James Stewart was anxious to appear in more challenging roles, as he was worried that the general perception was of him as a limited actor. He found director Anthony Mann very helpful in breaking that perception.
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James Stewart spent a lot of time practicing with the rifle so he would look like an authentic westerner.
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At the time of release there was some ridiculing from the press at the idea of James Stewart, the "thin man", playing a tough westerner. (Broken Arrow had not been released, even though it had been filmed first). Members of the audience were heard to gasp in shock at the scene where Stewart angrily confronts Dan Duryea.
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"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on November 12, 1951 with James Stewart reprising his film role.
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James Stewart has credited Winchester '73 for helping to save and redefine his career, after a series of post-war flops which threatened to damage his career.
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"Henry Brown", the name the main villain goes by, was also the name of a famous Kansas outlaw. The real life Brown's criminal career started in New Mexico during the Lincoln County War, however he later moved to Caldwell, Ks, and became town marshal. For his service to the community, Brown was given a Winchester rifle with his name inscribed on a plaque on the stock. Brown was later caught robbing a bank in Medicine Lodge, Ks, with the rifle bearing his name.
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