Death of a Gunfighter *** (1969, Richard Widmark, Lena Horne, Carroll O’Connor) – Classic Movie Review 6503

Richard Widmark stars as Frank Patch, an old-fashioned marshal who sticks to his guns and will not resign when he has cleaned up a Texas town and his enemies want him out. But then outlaws turn up again and violence breaks out on all sides.

Universal Pictures’s goodish, intelligent 1969 Western is boosted with strong performances from a fine cast and a series of involving scenes in the screenplay by Joseph Calvelli, based on the novel by Lewis B Patten. If dour and downbeat, it is still stalwart and rewarding.

In a man’s movie, the admirable Lena Horne is largely squandered in an underdeveloped role as Widmark’s mistress, Claire Quintana, but it was thought to be a breakthrough at that time that there is no mention of race.

Widmark allegedly did not get on with original director Robert Totten. Legend has it that Widmark had a fight with Totten, who was fired after 25 days’ filming for ‘artistic differences’. His replacement Don Siegel took over and finished the movie in nine days.

But Siegel refused the director credit, saying that Totten directed more of the film and Widmark refused to allow Totten the credit. Hence the film was credited to the pseudonymous Allen Smithee, his first film, or at least the first film ever released, though the first use of the infamous phantom director was for 1968’s Fade-In a year earlier.

The pseudonym was originally to be called Al Smith, but the Directors Guild of America said there had already been a director of that name, so Allen Smithee was born.

Also in the cast are Carroll O’Connor, David Opatoshu, Kent Smith, John Saxon, Michael McGreevey, Jacqueline Scott, Morgan Woodward, Larry Gates, Dub Taylor, Darleen Carr, Royal Dano, James Lydon, Kathleen Freeman and Harry Carey Jr.

It is shot by Andrew Jackson, produced by Richard E Lyons and scored by Oliver Nelson.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6503

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