Runtime: 85 minutes
Directed by: Henry King
Starring: Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden
From: 20th Century Fox
A movie that Ethan Hawke, Bob Dylan, and Sam Shepard all enjoy.
Last night on Turner Classic Movies Hawke was present to show a double feature of this and another quality 1950 film, Gun Crazy. He mentioned how he learned about the film as an adult via hearing the 80’s Dylan song Brownsville Girl, co-written by Shepard. Hawke had to ask Richard Linklater which Gregory Peck Western the song referenced several times; it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that Linklater was able to answer the query.
Peck-w/ tremendous mustache-is Jimmy Ringo, the baddest gunslinger in the Wild West. The main theme of the film is that his notoriety is not a life one should aspire to have. Every “squirt” wishes to challenge the legendary Ringo, people are looking for vengeance because of past misdeeds (or rumored misdeeds), and what a commotion that is caused when he visits the sleepy little hamlet of Cayenne. The moral ladies loathe a “killer” in town while all the boys are delighted to have a “hero” appear in their midst & some men wish to prove their manhood and square off against the legend.
It is a somber film where Jimmy Ringo (named after an actual Wild West desperado named Johnny Ringo) regrets his fame as he did not realize it would turn info infamy and he’d actually live a lonely existence. The movie is not entirely bleak; there are a few humorous moments so it is not a miserable experience by any means. Rather, it was fascinating viewing all those different people react to him in different ways and how Ringo handled all those situations. Karl Malden as the town’s barkeep (naturally) and sycophant of Ringo was arguably the best side character, but the most important supporting role was Millard Mitchell as the town’s Marshall.
As it’s from 20th Century Fox and a veteran director was in the chair-Henry King-this was a handsomely mounted production which was a searing look at the psychological toll of fame set in a Western milieu. I will compliment Ethan Hawke on selecting this and the film noir Gun Crazy as they are two quality productions from the same year which share similar messages despite residing in different genres.
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