Death of a Gunfighter (1969)

In the turn-of-the century Texas town of Cottownwood Springs, marshal Frank Patch is an old-style lawman in a town determined to become modern. When he kills drunken Luke Mills in ... See full summary »

Directors:

Don Siegel, Robert Totten

Writers:

Joseph Calvelli (screenplay), Lewis B. Patten (novel)

Stars:

Richard Widmark, Lena Horne, Carroll O'Connor

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Widmark	...	Marshal Frank Patch
Lena Horne	...	Claire Quintana
Carroll O'Connor	...	Lester Locke
David Opatoshu	...	Edward Rosenblum
Kent Smith	...	Andrew Oxley
Jacqueline Scott	...	Laurie Mills
Morgan Woodward	...	Ivan Stanek
Larry Gates	...	Mayor Chester Sayre
Dub Taylor	...	Doc Adams
John Saxon	...	Lou Trinidad
Darleen Carr	...	Hilda Jorgenson
Michael McGreevey	...	Dan Joslin
Royal Dano	...	Arch Brandt
Jimmy Lydon	...	Luke Mills (as James Lydon)
Kathleen Freeman	...	Mary Elizabeth

Storyline

In the turn-of-the century Texas town of Cottownwood Springs, marshal Frank Patch is an old-style lawman in a town determined to become modern. When he kills drunken Luke Mills in self-defense, the town leaders decide it's time for a change. That ask for Patch's resignation, but he refuses on the basis that the town on hiring him had promised him the job for as long as he wanted it. Afraid for the town's future and even more afraid of the fact that Marshal Patch knows all the town's dark secrets, the city fathers decide that old-style violence is the only way to rid themselves of the unwanted lawman.

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Plot Keywords:

marshal | violence | cowboy boots | cowboy shirt | saloon owner | 

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Taglines:

Marshall Patch... he lived by the law of the gun...

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

M

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1969 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Frank Patch - Deine Stunden sind gezählt

Filming Locations:

Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Star Richard Widmark and original director Robert Totten had "artistic differences," and Totten was replaced by Don Siegel. When the film was completed, Siegel, saying that Totten directed more of the film than he did, refused to take screen credit for it, but Widmark didn't want Totten's name on it. A compromise was reached whereby the film was credited to the fictitious "Alan Smithee" (originally to be called Al Smith, but the DGA said there had already been a director by that name), thereby setting a precedent for directors who, for one reason or another, did not want their name on a film they made.

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Quotes

Ivan Stanek: We don't have any law in this jerkwater town - he's the law! He's passed his sentence on practically everything and everyone. The people should be the law and will be the law, when they get the urge to get rid of Frank Patch. You see, gentlemen, what we're really deciding here is whether we move forward or backward. We either need to keep up with the times or we lose out.

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Connections

Referenced in El tiempo de la felicidad (1997)

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Soundtracks

"SWEET APPLE WINE"
Lyrics Carol Hall
Music Oliver Nelson
Sung by Lena Horne

User Reviews

a unsung western

A Western that shows how the "West growed itself up and got itself civilized".Richard Widmark gives what is probably his last great performance as a Sheriff whose way a doing things don't sit right with the "powers-that-be" personified by town merchant Carrol O Conner.This movie ,like Invitaion to a Gunfighter made some years before it reveals just how gutless and desperate the power-brokers are when there's no one to do their bidding.The film still holds up (even with the much mentioned two directors)though it has that "back-lot"look to most of it.John Saxon has a brief but memorable piece of work in this must see film for western fans or good movie fans.