The Gunfighter

The Gunfighter (1950)

Timing: 1:25 (85 min)

7.328/10
200

7.248/10
1208

7.7/10
14000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 8

Actors and characters

Release date

1950-06-23

Country

United States

Production

20th Century Fox

Genre

Western

Budget

$0

Revenue

$0

Website

Director

Henry King

Actors

Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden, Skip Homeier, Anthony Ross, Verna Felton, Ellen Corby, Richard Jaeckel
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Roger Corman

Producer

Nunnally Johnson, Darryl F. Zanuck

Operator

Arthur C. Miller

Composer

Alfred Newman

Artist

Audition

Editing

Barbara McLean
All team (29)

• During the filming of the movie, Gregory Peck wore a mustache that many at the studio disliked. When filming began, producer Spyros P. Skouras was away. By the time he returned, most of the film had already been shot, and it was too late to ask Peck to shave off the mustache and reshoot the footage. After it became clear that the film was not successful and the costs were not being recouped, Skouras went to the actor and told him that his mustache had cost them millions.
• The film is based on the life of John Ringo (1850-1882), a bandit from the Wild West era and a cousin of members of the "Younger Brothers" gang. In life, Ringo was a ruthless killer who was lucky enough to survive the famous gunfight at the corral. Unlike the character portrayed in the film, the real John Ringo fell into depression after visiting relatives in California in July 1982, went on a 10-day drinking binge, and then sat under a tree and shot himself.
• The original story was written by William Bowers (1916-1987) and André De Toth (1912-2002) with John Wayne (1907-1979) in mind. Wayne liked the story and offered Bowers $10,000 for it, but Bowers asked for more. Later, Bowers sold the story to Fox for $70,000, which greatly offended Wayne. Subsequently, Harry Cohn (1891-1958), the founder of Columbia Pictures, acquired the story for Wayne, but he refused to work with the company due to old grievances against Cohn. Cohn then sold the screenplay to Twentieth Century Fox, which took on the project and signed Gregory Peck (1916-2003) for the lead role. When Peck was chosen as the "best Western actor" in 1950 and presented with an award – silver spurs – Wayne was furious. Wayne's last film, "The Shootist" (1976), has a noticeable resemblance to "The Gunfighter."
• In the original ending, the sheriff arrested Hunt Bromley, played by Skip Homeier (1930-2017), but this finale enraged studio head Darryl F. Zanuck (1902-1979) so much that director Henry King (1886-1982) and screenwriter Nannelli Johnson (1897-1977) devised a finale in which the sheriff beats Bromley and lets him go. Only then did Zanuck calm down.
• The film is based on the life of John Ringo (1850-1882), an outlaw of the Wild West and a cousin of the Younger Brothers gang. In real life, Ringo was a ruthless killer who managed to survive a famous shootout at the corral. Unlike the character portrayed in the film, the real John Ringo fell into depression after visiting relatives in California in July 1982, went on a 10-day drinking binge, and then sat under a tree and shot himself.