Winchester '73 - A James Stewart classic western

Winchester '73 is a 1950 American Western directed by Anthony Mann, starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea and Stephen McNally. Written by Borden Chase and Robert L. Richards, the film is set in 1876 in a variety of famous Western locations and follows the journey of a prized rifle from one ill-fated owner to another, as well as a cowboy's search for a murderous fugitive. It is the first Western film collaboration between Mann and Stewart, the first of eight films that they made together, and was filmed in black and white. It is also the first film from which an actor received a percentage of the receipts, a practice known as "points", as compensation.

Among the film's cast of supporting actors, Rock Hudson portrays a Native American, and Tony Curtis plays a besieged cavalry trooper, both in minor roles at the beginning of their careers.

The film received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Written American Western. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". A MUST SEE WESTERN MOVIE, FOR ALL WESTERN FANS AND OTHERS WHO JUST ENJOY WORLD CLASS ACTING…

Synopsis:

Lin McAdam and his pal "High-Spade" arrive in Dodge City, Kansas, as a man is forcing a comely saloon pianist onto an out-of-town stage. Lin intervenes but backs down when he learns that the man is not only the local Marshal but Wyatt Earp. Lin is on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown to settle a personal score. They meet in a saloon but cannot draw on each other because of Earp's policy of confiscating all strangers' guns while they are visiting the town.

Both Lin and Dutch enter the community's Centennial shooting contest for a prized "One in One Thousand" Winchester 1873 repeating rifle. Lin and Dutch shoot much better than the locals, with Lin besting his gruff adversary in a shoot-off. Learning that Dutch and his pals are leaving, he goes to his room to pack. There, Dutch and his men ambush him, steal the rifle, and ride away before they can retrieve their guns.

Arriving at Riker's inn, the trio finds Indian trader Joe Lamont, who eyes the fancy Winchester and becomes determined to get it. He raises the prices of his guns and ammunition so that the Henry gang cannot afford them. After losing to Lamont at poker, Dutch is forced to trade the rifle to him for three hundred dollars plus their pick of weapons. Dutch tries to win the Winchester back by betting the wad in one pot, but is cleaned out by a stacked deck.

Lamont peddles his guns to his buyer, Young Bull, who rejects them as worn out and inferior. Spying the elaborately decorated Winchester, he seizes it and turns on Lamont, who is robbed, killed and scalped.

Lin McAdam (Jimmy Stewart) shooting in the rifle contest
Meanwhile, the saloon pianist Lola and her fiancé Steve are in a wagon traveling toward a new home. Pursued by Young Bull and his warriors, Steve panics, abandons Lola, and rides away alone on his horse. Discovering a small encampment of cavalry soldiers ahead, he reverses and together, they race to the camp. That night, Lin and High-Spade are also chased in and safely join the group.