A Gunfight

"A Gunfight" is a pretty good movie. But it's important that folks know that it's all myth...the myth of the old west. So much of what you see in westerns is fake....created by Hollywood to sell tickets. So, while you'll see folks gunning down each other in duels on main street at high noon, this isn't real. I checked....and in the entire history of the old west, only two gunfights like this ever occurred...and they went down very differently in real life. In one case, it took four shots for one gunman to kill the other...and seeing folks doing trick shooting and rapid-firing and the like just didn't occur. When someone did shoot another person, it was usually with a rifle or shotgun and often they shot their victim in the back! No, the notion of the noble quick-shooter is something you just didn't see in the west....although this is the plot to "A Gunfight"!

When the story begins, Abe Cross (Johnny Cash) wanders into a town. He's broke, his horse is dying and he has a reputation as a fast shot which precedes him. Also in this same town is a resident, Will Tenneray (Kirk Douglas)...also thought to be a fast shot. But the pair don't hate each other and neither is in the mood for a fight and instead they share a few drinks and become friendly. During this time, Abe jokes that if they DID have a gunfight, folks would buy tickets to watch! Later, Will approaches Abe...and says selling tickets would be a great idea. Both are poor and the winner (i.e., the survivor) would be able to start a new life. Soon the town is abuzz with folks wanting to bet on the outcome. What's next?

Again, it's pure fiction. But it's well made pure fiction. Johnny Cash is very good and Kirk Douglas is what you'd expect. The film is also technically well made and interesting. My only complaint is that the ending is confusing.

So my suggestion is to watch it (it's currently on YouTube)...but don't believe this really is like the west because it isn't. In fact, I used to be an American history teacher and my students were very disappointed to hear that so many of their assumptions about the west are Hollywood creations.

By the way, oddly enough the Jacarilla Apache tribe was the major financer of the film. Perhaps they just liked the notion of some cowboys shooting each other or they thought it would be a good investment for the tribe.

The movie does well, but not for his direction, script, photography or even wardrobe, which are acceptable. The line that separates this movie from the classic battered western movie is its peculiar choice of actors.

Starring Johnny Cash and Kirk Duglas, the plot is based on the expectation of the town folk for knowing who of the two is the best gunman, when Abe Cross arrives at the town where Will Tenneray is trying to set a quiet life for himself.

All in all, it's one of those acceptable movies, except in this case there are two iconic American characters.

I think I just enjoy this movie because of the actors. The story isn't the best and if you're looking for great art, go elsewhere. But, if you're a fan of Douglas and Cash and would like to see a few other notables on screen, sit back and enjoy the flick with a few beers.

The quiet loner who emanates raw danger by mere presence has never been portrayed as well until JC takes the role of Abe Cross. Cashs performance alone merits a 'must see' rating for this movie. Kirk Douglas is a natural pick for the role of a flashy, boastful, gunslinger who feels trapped by his retirement as saloon owner and family man in a small town. Will Tenneray(Douglas) yearns for the glory of his past as a feared and known name amongst gunfighters of the West. Abe Cross, his deeds and past are shrouded by a persona that shuns gossip and towns while Will Tennerays' exploits are well known and self-promoted. When Cross rides into town and has a drink in Tennerays' saloon, the tension is immediate and keeps climbing as every townsman whisper their expectations each time the two meet. The inevitable confrontation is a twist on the usual 'meet you at noon duel' that sets this Western apart.

A Gunfight is directed by Lamont Johnson and written by Harold Jack Bloom. It stars Kirk Douglas, Johnny Cash, Jane Alexander, Karen Black and Raf Vallone. Music is by Laurence Rosenthal and cinematography by David Walsh.

Will Tenneray (Douglas) and Abe Cross (Cash) are two ageing gunfighters who after meeting each other in town hit it of straight away and actually like and respect each other. However, with both men in need of money and the whole town intrigued as to who would win in a gunfight between them, Tenneray hits upon the idea of the two of them having the gunfight and selling tickets to the event, with the winner receiving the ticket proceeds…

It was the first mainstream American film to be financed by American Indians—the Jicarilla Apaches—but this in now way was a propaganda move since the narrative has nothing to do with Native Americans. It's a most unusual Western in a lot of ways, off beat and deliberately played for fun at times, yet it pulses with dark thematics involving the human condition. Stripped bare is the fickle value of celebrity status, deftly cloaked with the ignorant blood-lust of a paying public.

Director Johnson keeps the pacing smooth as we get to know both men and watch their relationship unfold. All the while we are getting a grasp on the townsfolk in general, while the two ladies of the men's world are impacting greatly due to the sensitive screenplay. All roads lead to the ironic venue of a bullfighting arena across the border, where a full house of paying patrons come to see one of the men die. Whoever that is doesn't really matter, the caustic insertion of a dream sequence at film's end leaves us in no doubt that the winner really hasn't won at all.

With great performances from Douglas and Alexander, and good ones from Cash and Black, film also holds up well on the acting front. But the real stars here are Johnson and Bloom, for they have produced a clever picture that doesn't over reach itself by trying to be cerebral. It deserves to be better known and appraised. 7.5/10