The Gunfighter is a perfectly calibrated anti-Western, with only three shots fired throughout the entire film. Gregory Peck looks convincing wearing a handlebar mustache as a famous Texan gunslinger. One of the masterpieces directed by Henry King, the film excelled in an impressive mise-en-scene, great acting, and a phenomenal script structured around a classic Greek tragedy. The film tells the story of Jimmy Ringo, “the fastest gun in the West”, who hungers to change his life and desperately tries to avoid problems and conflicts. He wishes to overcome his bloody past, yet he is doomed to fail. Commonly described as an “adult” Western, the King picture unfolds in a chronological span of a couple of hours with fine tension built throughout, accompanied by the musical score by Alfred Newman, which surprisingly is only included in the main, opening, theme, and the closing moments. The Gunfighter is a psychological Western with no stagecoach raids or prowling gangsters; it might prove a great discovery of Hollywood’s best quality to admirers of the classic Western. Peck’s fine performance in the film, perhaps the finest in his career, makes it also a must-see recommendation for those who do not typically enjoy this film genre.
(1886 - 1982) A legendary American actor and film director. His career started in 1915 and lasted for 50 years. He directed around 100 films, many of which were adaptations of books from authors such as Ernest Hemingway. He largely contributed to the visual-narrative style of classical Hollywood cinema. Nominated for the Academy Awards twice, he received a Golden Globe in 1944 for Song of Bernadette. King most often worked with Jennifer Jones, Tyrone Power and Gregory Peck, with whom he made eight films.
1943 Pieśń o Bernadetcie / The Song of Bernadette
1952 Śniegi Kilimandżaro / The Snows of Kilimanjaro
1950 Jim Ringo / The Gunfighter
1957 Słońce też wschodzi / The Sun Also Rises
1962 Czuła jest noc / Tender Is the Night