The Gunfighter

A film that tackles the darker side of the gunslinger hero cliché. It does so through an onslaught of uninteresting dialogues and cardboard characters, luckily, Peck's lead character is a welcome exception here. Peck gives some depth to his role, which at least saves the film from being a complete drag.

Ringo is notorious for being the fastest gunman around. He's done with his gun slinging days and is more interested in trying to win his wife back, but his reputation precedes him everywhere he goes. In a bar in Santa Fe he kills a young guy who draws his gun on him. The boy's brother and father want revenge and Ringo has no option but to flee.

Though Peck breathes some life into his character, the rest of the film is pretty basic western material, only with an excess of dialogue. The cinematography and score are bland, the pacing is tepid and though the ending is supposed to be emotional, I was mostly glad the film had finished. Not great, but at least there was something there.