By their very nature, Western films are American through and through. This one is very much that to its detriment.
Lin McAdam (James Stewart) and his friend High-Spade (Millard Mitchell) arrive in Dodge City to take part in a shooting contest with the prize being a rare Winchester '73 rifle. McAdam knows the contest will draw in his bitter enemy Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally). Events lead to the rifle being passed from one owner to another as McAdam's tracks down Dutch whilst facing threats from Native Americans along the way.
There are almost two films in one here. The main plot is really about McAdam taking on Dutch. Whilst there are some hints, we don't know the reasons for their rivalry until the closing moments of the film. I'm not sure doing it this way around really helps the revenge story. Whilst James Stewart is of course the good guy and Dutch is the villain, it's difficult to care a great deal about the conflict as it's oddly emotionless.
The subplot is about the rifle being passed along from one owner to another. This is an interesting idea and gives us some interesting supporting characters. My biggest frustration is that it always feels like an afterthought in the background of the main conflict. It's a great idea but I would have liked it to be the main focus of the film.
As ever with Westerns, the depiction of Native Americans or "Indians" is problematic. This isn't as bad as some, depicting an America shortly after the Battle of Little Bighorn where the tribes have guns and are fighting back against their oppressors, meaning they have a degree of agency. It's still really cliched in the way it depicts them though and the only one with a speaking role is played by a white actor (Rock Hudson).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the title and the premise, this film really glamorises gun culture. It contributes to the idea that brandishing guns is part of American culture and vital for survival. Whilst the shooting contest is fun and feels quite Robin Hood, there are multiple gun battles in the film which are long and tedious, the 50s equivalent to a big CGI action sequence in a modern day blockbuster.
I can see a certain kind of American really liking this (let's face it, I'm thinking of a certain type of Trump supporter) but it hasn't aged well and I found it problematic in several ways as well as having underwhelming storytelling.
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