Death of a Gunfighter (1969)

Directors:

Don Siegel
Robert Totten

Writers:

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

Release Date:

April 1969 (Austria)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Marshal | Small Town | Changing Times | Suicide | Marriage

Cast

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

Runtime:

Brazil:94 min | USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Norway:16 | West Germany:18 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Golden Oak Ranch - 19802 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

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.

Quotes:

[discussing Frank Patch]
Lester Locke: There's that mayor over there drumming up a meeting with all those rich and proper jackasses - hollering and shouting around, quoting some stupid law or bylaw. Then they'll all go stomping down to the jailhouse, take a look at God Almighty, then he'll take one good look back at 'em, and they'll all wet their britches and go on home.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Who Is Alan Smithee? (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

SWEET APPLE WINE

Another unsung classic that needs remembering

How many times have I seen films on television which have astounded me with their depth and profundity and whose titles I have never heard before? Or which never come up in discussions of the classics? Death of a Gunfighter was one such movie. (The Devil's Doorway from 1950 with Robert Taylor is another.) Gazineo from Brasilia rightly compared DoaG with the Shootist (John Wayne) as portraying the passing of the frontier into more modern political structures. Especially the sharply etched scenes in the town council showing all the ethnics (Cathoic priest, Jewish merchant) being led around by the nose by the progressive Episcopalian (or whatever denomination he's supposed to be.) But there's one movie nobody has compared this film to: High Noon (Gary Cooper). DoaG is like a "High Noon noir." In High Noon the hero manages to conquer his enemies entirely on his own despite being deserted by the Establishment. But in DoaG the members of the whole establishment are the enemies and the hero does not manage to conquer them; on the contrary they get their own way most gruesomely in the end. This is somewhat of a unique plot in the history of westerns. Beautiful music by Oliver Nelson (1932-1975). What a loss to the movies! Imagine Carroll O'Connor in a pre-Archie Bunker role. That's a rarity in itself! When classic westerns are discussed DoaG must be included..