jacques tourneur, of Cat People fame, might seem an unlikely candidate to helm an above average B+ western. But that was the case in 1955 with Wichita, about the early days of Wyatt Earp. Some liberties with the facts are taken, including the notion that Earp had never worn a badge before he arrived in the Texas cowtown. In fact, Earp was the marshal of Ellsworth, Kansas in 1875 and was wooed away by the larger Wichita - even as Dodge City would then talk him into moving there. Many incidents in this film actually took place in Ellsworth, as the two towns are 'collapsed' into one another. That aside, the film is fine - whether individual things we see happened in one town or the other, the point is that the savvy screenplay conveys a strong understanding of the politics in such a city, and with no simple good guys in white hats or badguys in black ones, we realize that Earp had more problem with greedy townspeople than with outlaws. Bat Masterson (whom he actually knew from buffalo hunting days) becomes a deputy though he really wants to be a newspaperman, and while that had not yet occurred to him, Bat would, after leaving the rest, become a famous sportwriter in New York. One terrific sequence involves the attempt of a corrupt businessman to hire a pair of gunmen to kill Wyatt, though they turn out to be two of his brothers, and this incident really did take place. Joel McCrea makes a sturdy Earp (he later played Bat in gunfight at dodge city), and Keith Larson is fine as the young Bat. Great title song, by the way, by Tex Ritter. As to the upper level of B westerns in the fifties, they really don't get much better than this.
29 Reviews
Gunplay and action with the legendary deputy US marshal Wyatt Earp
ma-cortes25 September 2006
The film was well developed in Wichita where appeared Wyatt Earp (Joel McCrea) as one of the many lawman hired to keep the peace . Wyatt Earp was a gunman and sometime peace officer whose legendary reputation as a paragon of law and order was largely manufactured by himself and his biographer Stuart Lake . Undoubtedly he was also a man of great courage and gunfighting skill . After working as a freighter and buffalo hunter Earp served as a policeman in Wichita (during 1875-76 years) and then as an assistant town marshal of Dodge city . Wichita was a major cattle town that started life as a trading post for the Indians who had a village nearby and later a white settlement developed around . The town was incorporated as a third class city in 1871, and the following year , when the railroad reached the location , it becomes a booming railhead of the cattle drives from Texas up the Chisholm trail . Like other cattle towns (Abilene) the rowdy , free-spending cowboys attracted saloon keepers , gambling houses , brothels , dance houses and all types of frontier riff-raff , the city became notorious for its lawlessness and vice , serving the needs of Texas cowboys . Wichita was the leading cattle shipping center , with 200.000 cattle and 2.000 cowboys flooding into the area at the height of the station . At the movie the cowboys (such as Robert J.Wilke and Jack Elam) amuse themselves shooting the air and is when Wyatt Earp intervenes to keep the order . He is helped by his brothers James (John Smith) and Morgan (Peter Graves) who was badly wounded in the explosive showdown known as the Gunfight at the O.K .Corral (26 October 1881) . At the film appears Bat Masterson (Keith Larsen) working as a journalist . Bat was also a peace officer and gunfighter of legendary reputation as Earp and spent the last twenty years of his life as a popular sports writer on a New York newspaper , moving on to Dodge City , he served as a police officer and became a comrade of Wyatt . The motion picture develops pretty well the events around Wichita . The casting is frankly magnificent as the main characters (Joel McCrea , Vera Miles) as well as the excellent supporting actors (Edgar Buchanan , Lloyd Bridges , Wallace Ford and Sam Peckinpah plays a bit part as a bank teller). The picture was well directed by Jacques Tourneur . Rating : Good Western , well worth watching .
The Kansas Law Dog!
hitchcockthelegend2 January 2016
Wichita is directed by Jacques Tourneur and written by Daniel B. Ullman. It stars Joel McCrea, Vera Miles, Wallace Ford, Edgar Buchannan, Lloyd Bridges and Keith Larsen. It's filmed in Cinemascope/Technicolor with cinematography by Harold Lipstein and music by Hans J. Salter.
Wichita is an origin story, that of one Wyatt Earp (McCrea), the story is set before he gets to Dodge City, where apparently some famous gunfight occurred. From a narrative stand point it's a town tamer story, Earp arrives in a newly thriving Wichita, at this point he's a hunter of buffalo only. But as the cowboys converge on the town, and things turn very dark, Earp - a bastion of good and just righteousness - finds it impossible to continue in turning down the town superior's offers of becoming the town Marshal.
It's one of those Western movies that made Western movie fans become Western movie fans. A film you would have watched as a youngster and just bought totally into the good guy against the baddies central core. Of course as youngsters we wouldn't have cared a jot about thematics such as capitalism ruling over common sense, or metaphysical leanings ticking away, all while a genius director is composing shots and frames of great distinction. Hell! Even the intelligence and maturity in the writing would have escaped us, the dark passages merely incidents of no great concern...
Wichita is damn fine film making. OK! It isn't wall to wall action. Sure there is a good round of knuckles, a bit of trench warfare and the standard shoot-outs, but these are just conduits to smart and compelling human drama, richly performed by McCrea (brilliantly cast) and company. Tourneur, Ullman and Lipstein make sure there is no waste on the page or via location framing, the costuming authentic and pleasing, and of course the story itself, the set up of the iconic man himself, is as compelling as it is splendidly entertaining.
It be a traditional Western for the traditional Western fan. Nice! 8/10
Wichita is an origin story, that of one Wyatt Earp (McCrea), the story is set before he gets to Dodge City, where apparently some famous gunfight occurred. From a narrative stand point it's a town tamer story, Earp arrives in a newly thriving Wichita, at this point he's a hunter of buffalo only. But as the cowboys converge on the town, and things turn very dark, Earp - a bastion of good and just righteousness - finds it impossible to continue in turning down the town superior's offers of becoming the town Marshal.
It's one of those Western movies that made Western movie fans become Western movie fans. A film you would have watched as a youngster and just bought totally into the good guy against the baddies central core. Of course as youngsters we wouldn't have cared a jot about thematics such as capitalism ruling over common sense, or metaphysical leanings ticking away, all while a genius director is composing shots and frames of great distinction. Hell! Even the intelligence and maturity in the writing would have escaped us, the dark passages merely incidents of no great concern...
Wichita is damn fine film making. OK! It isn't wall to wall action. Sure there is a good round of knuckles, a bit of trench warfare and the standard shoot-outs, but these are just conduits to smart and compelling human drama, richly performed by McCrea (brilliantly cast) and company. Tourneur, Ullman and Lipstein make sure there is no waste on the page or via location framing, the costuming authentic and pleasing, and of course the story itself, the set up of the iconic man himself, is as compelling as it is splendidly entertaining.
It be a traditional Western for the traditional Western fan. Nice! 8/10
Not a classic, but good
IlyaMauter7 May 2003
Wichita is a western that again focuses on a life and deeds of legendary Wyatt Earp, only this time without gunfight at the OK Corral. The action doesn't take place at Tombstone, but in a small cattle town of Wichita where our hero (this time played by Joel McCrea) arrives and very soon is offered a post of a Marshall due to his strong persona and skills in using the gun.
In a very short time he manages to change completely the life of the town from a very dangerous place where one could be killed or robbed at any moment to the most peaceful town in the wild west.
An interesting western directed by Jacques Tourneur, that revisits some of the used western's cliches, but also contains some spectacular action sequences and some personal Tourneur touches in directing which rise the film little above the average and turn it into a pleasurable viewing experience. 7/10
In a very short time he manages to change completely the life of the town from a very dangerous place where one could be killed or robbed at any moment to the most peaceful town in the wild west.
An interesting western directed by Jacques Tourneur, that revisits some of the used western's cliches, but also contains some spectacular action sequences and some personal Tourneur touches in directing which rise the film little above the average and turn it into a pleasurable viewing experience. 7/10
Wyatt Earp's first law enforcement job.
bkoganbing16 August 2005
The same year that Wichita came out, 1955, the TV series about Wyatt Earp debuted with that famous theme song, "Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp, brave courageous and bold." And certainly Hugh O'Brian was all these things in that series.
But the western hero that fit all those virtues was certainly Joel McCrea. After portraying Buffalo Bill Cody in the way Cody would have liked to have been remembered it was only natural that Wyatt Earp be done the same way.
Wichita was the first town that Earp had a job in law enforcement and he was there one year, 1875-1876. Wichita is purportedly the story of that year and how he cleaned up the town and made law and order function in Wichita. It's certainly all been done before, but the story is in the hands of a capable cast.
Particularly to watch is the double dealing role that Edgar Buchanan has and how a bad case of mistaken identity costs him dearly.
Tex Ritter sings a nice title song over the credits and while it didn't exactly have the impact that his same efforts had in High Noon, it certainly sets the tone for this film as well. After all back in the day Tex made a western or three.
But the western hero that fit all those virtues was certainly Joel McCrea. After portraying Buffalo Bill Cody in the way Cody would have liked to have been remembered it was only natural that Wyatt Earp be done the same way.
Wichita was the first town that Earp had a job in law enforcement and he was there one year, 1875-1876. Wichita is purportedly the story of that year and how he cleaned up the town and made law and order function in Wichita. It's certainly all been done before, but the story is in the hands of a capable cast.
Particularly to watch is the double dealing role that Edgar Buchanan has and how a bad case of mistaken identity costs him dearly.
Tex Ritter sings a nice title song over the credits and while it didn't exactly have the impact that his same efforts had in High Noon, it certainly sets the tone for this film as well. After all back in the day Tex made a western or three.
Superior McCrea Western
dougdoepke12 December 2012
Superior McCrea western thanks to an intelligent script that also plays up the actor's penchant for steely resolve. How much law and order is too much. That's the question the town council of Wichita must decide. Too much will drive away the fun-starved cowboys coming to town after a long trail drive. Too little and the town gets shot up. Newly installed Sheriff Earp (McCrea) is on the side of strict law and order, forbidding the cowboys from bringing their guns to town. This upsets powerful businessmen and saloon owners. So Earp must contend not only with rowdy cowboys but with town politics as well.
McCrea is perfect for the quietly resolute sheriff. As expected there's no swagger or bravado in his grim determination to keep other townspeople from being accidentally killed by busting-loose cowhands. When he stands alone, you believe it. It's also a well-stocked production from lowly Allied Artists, with enough extras to make the crowded town scenes credible. Of course, there's a romantic angle with a lovely but heavily made-up Vera Miles (soon to come under the wing of Hitchcock in such thrillers as The Wrong Man {1956} and Psycho {1960}). But the romance is pretty well integrated into the plot, without dangling like a distractive add-on.
All in all, it's a good western drama woven around the quietly powerful Joel McCrea.
McCrea is perfect for the quietly resolute sheriff. As expected there's no swagger or bravado in his grim determination to keep other townspeople from being accidentally killed by busting-loose cowhands. When he stands alone, you believe it. It's also a well-stocked production from lowly Allied Artists, with enough extras to make the crowded town scenes credible. Of course, there's a romantic angle with a lovely but heavily made-up Vera Miles (soon to come under the wing of Hitchcock in such thrillers as The Wrong Man {1956} and Psycho {1960}). But the romance is pretty well integrated into the plot, without dangling like a distractive add-on.
All in all, it's a good western drama woven around the quietly powerful Joel McCrea.
Excellent Joel McCrea Duster
gordonl5627 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers
WICHITA 1955
This Allied Artists film is a Cinemascope production shot in vibrant Technicolor. This western stars Joel McCrea, Vera Miles, Lloyd Bridges, Edgar Buchanan, Carl Benton Reid, Mae Clarke, Robert Wilkie, Jack Elam, Wallace Ford, Peter Graves and Walter Sande. Joel McCrea plays Wyatt Earp here.
McCrea is travelling to Wichita Kansas to look into setting up a business. He has a small fortune saved up from his buffalo hunting days. He meets up with a group of cattlemen running a herd of beef to the rail-head at Wichita. The boss, Walter Sande, offers Earp some grub and a place to bed down that night.
Two of the cowhands, Lloyd Bridges and Rayford Barnes lift McCrea's cash during the night. This shall we say causes more than a little ill will. McCrea takes his cash back and thumps Bridges for his troubles. This of course sets up for some violence later on.
McCrea hits town and soon makes friends with local newsman, Wallace Ford, and his reporter, Bat Masterson, played by Keith Larson. McCrea impresses the local town big shots when he foils a robbery at the town bank. They offer him the job as Town Marshal. McCrea turns the offer down.
McCrea however takes up the badge after a small boy is shot by a bunch of drunken cowboys. He collars the cowpokes and fires the whole mess of them into jail. There is now a series of events that has McCrea at odds with the cowboys, some of the town elders and one of the saloon owners, Edgar Buchanan.
The biggest bone of contention is the new law of McCrea's of no guns to be carried in town. McCrea also finds time during all this to step out with pretty Vera Miles. Miles is the daughter of one of the town's leading citizens, Walter Coy. Coy is not happy about this and tries to stop Miles from seeing McCrea.
Saloon owner Buchanan hires a couple of out of town guns to eliminate McCrea. Too bad for Buchanan, that the two, Peter Graves and John Smith, are actually two more of the Earp brothers. McCrea gives Buchanan an hour to leave town.
Needless to say Buchanan does not take the ejection well. He returns that night with Jack Elam and Rayford Barnes. The attempted killing misses McCrea and gets Miss Miles mother, Mae Clarke, instead.
McCrea and his brothers are soon in hot pursuit. Elam and Barnes are quickly ran to ground and dispatched. Buchanan however escapes. He meets up with the cow-poke pals of Elam and Barnes. He soon has the group whipped up for a spot of revenge on McCrea and company. We all know how this is going to end.
This is a much better than expected western with fine work from the entire cast and crew. The film was helmed by Jacques Tourneur. Tourneur is most well known as the director of the noir classic, OUT OF THE PAST. The man worked in several genres and put out more than a few excellent films. These include, CAT PEOPLE, THE LEOPARD MAN, BERLIN EXPRESS, CANYON PASSAGE, STARS IN MY CROWN, NIGHT OF THE DEMON and NIGHTFALL.
The look of the film is top flight with Harold Lipstein handling the cinematography duties. His work include the westerns, WALK THE PROUD LAND, CHIEF CRAZY HORSE, DRUMS ACROSS THE RIVER, NO NAME ON THE BULLET, AMBUSH , HELL IS FOR HEROES and NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
Look close and you will see former early western star, Franklyn Farnum as well as McCrea's son, Jody, in small bits.
This Allied Artists film is a Cinemascope production shot in vibrant Technicolor. This western stars Joel McCrea, Vera Miles, Lloyd Bridges, Edgar Buchanan, Carl Benton Reid, Mae Clarke, Robert Wilkie, Jack Elam, Wallace Ford, Peter Graves and Walter Sande. Joel McCrea plays Wyatt Earp here.
McCrea is travelling to Wichita Kansas to look into setting up a business. He has a small fortune saved up from his buffalo hunting days. He meets up with a group of cattlemen running a herd of beef to the rail-head at Wichita. The boss, Walter Sande, offers Earp some grub and a place to bed down that night.
Two of the cowhands, Lloyd Bridges and Rayford Barnes lift McCrea's cash during the night. This shall we say causes more than a little ill will. McCrea takes his cash back and thumps Bridges for his troubles. This of course sets up for some violence later on.
McCrea hits town and soon makes friends with local newsman, Wallace Ford, and his reporter, Bat Masterson, played by Keith Larson. McCrea impresses the local town big shots when he foils a robbery at the town bank. They offer him the job as Town Marshal. McCrea turns the offer down.
McCrea however takes up the badge after a small boy is shot by a bunch of drunken cowboys. He collars the cowpokes and fires the whole mess of them into jail. There is now a series of events that has McCrea at odds with the cowboys, some of the town elders and one of the saloon owners, Edgar Buchanan.
The biggest bone of contention is the new law of McCrea's of no guns to be carried in town. McCrea also finds time during all this to step out with pretty Vera Miles. Miles is the daughter of one of the town's leading citizens, Walter Coy. Coy is not happy about this and tries to stop Miles from seeing McCrea.
Saloon owner Buchanan hires a couple of out of town guns to eliminate McCrea. Too bad for Buchanan, that the two, Peter Graves and John Smith, are actually two more of the Earp brothers. McCrea gives Buchanan an hour to leave town.
Needless to say Buchanan does not take the ejection well. He returns that night with Jack Elam and Rayford Barnes. The attempted killing misses McCrea and gets Miss Miles mother, Mae Clarke, instead.
McCrea and his brothers are soon in hot pursuit. Elam and Barnes are quickly ran to ground and dispatched. Buchanan however escapes. He meets up with the cow-poke pals of Elam and Barnes. He soon has the group whipped up for a spot of revenge on McCrea and company. We all know how this is going to end.
This is a much better than expected western with fine work from the entire cast and crew. The film was helmed by Jacques Tourneur. Tourneur is most well known as the director of the noir classic, OUT OF THE PAST. The man worked in several genres and put out more than a few excellent films. These include, CAT PEOPLE, THE LEOPARD MAN, BERLIN EXPRESS, CANYON PASSAGE, STARS IN MY CROWN, NIGHT OF THE DEMON and NIGHTFALL.
The look of the film is top flight with Harold Lipstein handling the cinematography duties. His work include the westerns, WALK THE PROUD LAND, CHIEF CRAZY HORSE, DRUMS ACROSS THE RIVER, NO NAME ON THE BULLET, AMBUSH , HELL IS FOR HEROES and NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
Look close and you will see former early western star, Franklyn Farnum as well as McCrea's son, Jody, in small bits.
Excellent western even if it rarely gets the facts straight!
planktonrules24 January 2014
Up front I must tell you that I usually HATE westerns featuring folks like Jesse James, Billy the Kid and other real life folk. This is because very rarely do the filmmakers get it right--and completely fictionalize these lives to make minor characters seem far, far more important and interesting than they really were. So, when I saw that Joel McCrea stars as Wyatt Earp, I was NOT pleased. And, to make it worse, Bat Masterson apparently is in the film as well. The only reason I forced myself to watch it is because even a bad McCrea western is still usually worth seeing. Plus, it did help that folks like Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Edgar Buchanan, Wallace Ford, Vera Miles and Jack Elam also were in the film.
To set the record straight, I used to teach US History and much of what's in this film is crap. While it is true that Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson did work together for a bit, it was in Texas, not Kansas. Also, Earp WAS a deputy in Wichita--never the marshall or sheriff. And, although Bat Masterson DID become a newspaper man, that was later--after he was a lawman. I sure wish they'd kept the script and just changed the names--it would have improved it immensely. That's because it really is a very, very good film apart from all the historical confabulations!
In this story, Wyatt is a peace-loving and patient man. He's headed into Wichita to open a business and live a normal life. Unfortunately, the town is pretty lawless--especially when the cattlemen and their hands arrive in town. During one of these times, the guys shoot up the town--and kill a little kid. So, Wyatt is quickly sworn in as sheriff and he takes on these drunken rowdies with only the assistance of young Bat Masterson. You'd think the town would be thrilled, right? Well, this is NOT the case of the rich guys in town who own the saloons and stockyards! They want the sheriff to turn a blind eye to the outrages of the cattlemen because their fortunes depend on cattle. However, Wyatt will only do it his way--the RIGHT way! What's to happen next? See the film for yourself.
Excellent acting, lots of action and a terrific take on the myth of the old west. Yes, I do mean myth as gunfights and much of what we think of as common stuff in the west rarely ever occurred--and more often than not, it was just some guy shooting another guy in the back!
To set the record straight, I used to teach US History and much of what's in this film is crap. While it is true that Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson did work together for a bit, it was in Texas, not Kansas. Also, Earp WAS a deputy in Wichita--never the marshall or sheriff. And, although Bat Masterson DID become a newspaper man, that was later--after he was a lawman. I sure wish they'd kept the script and just changed the names--it would have improved it immensely. That's because it really is a very, very good film apart from all the historical confabulations!
In this story, Wyatt is a peace-loving and patient man. He's headed into Wichita to open a business and live a normal life. Unfortunately, the town is pretty lawless--especially when the cattlemen and their hands arrive in town. During one of these times, the guys shoot up the town--and kill a little kid. So, Wyatt is quickly sworn in as sheriff and he takes on these drunken rowdies with only the assistance of young Bat Masterson. You'd think the town would be thrilled, right? Well, this is NOT the case of the rich guys in town who own the saloons and stockyards! They want the sheriff to turn a blind eye to the outrages of the cattlemen because their fortunes depend on cattle. However, Wyatt will only do it his way--the RIGHT way! What's to happen next? See the film for yourself.
Excellent acting, lots of action and a terrific take on the myth of the old west. Yes, I do mean myth as gunfights and much of what we think of as common stuff in the west rarely ever occurred--and more often than not, it was just some guy shooting another guy in the back!
Good Western, but not great...
tim-764-29185615 July 2012
The now-familiar and evergreen story of Wyatt Earp's maverick attempts (& succeeding) at ridding all guns from the Western frontier town of Wichita, is again shown here, directed with some style by Jacques Tourneur, from 1955.
Joel Mc Crea - not quite a superstar of Westerns, is suitably refrained but still somehow imposing as the law enforcement officer Earp. There's good action at the start, as bands of outlaws ride in, guns blazing, fights in Saloon bars and general terrorising of the residents.
Mc Crea is good, Vera Miles lovely and a turn from Lloyd Bridges is always welcome. The colour and clarity are also good, though the Technicolor less vibrant and saturated than is often the case, making the film look more natural.
Though I'm no expert on the Western, I do enjoy a good one and whilst this was entertaining enough, it didn't strike me as one to particularly remember. It didn't drag, wasn't boring and is probably better than average, but not quite enough for 7/10.
Joel Mc Crea - not quite a superstar of Westerns, is suitably refrained but still somehow imposing as the law enforcement officer Earp. There's good action at the start, as bands of outlaws ride in, guns blazing, fights in Saloon bars and general terrorising of the residents.
Mc Crea is good, Vera Miles lovely and a turn from Lloyd Bridges is always welcome. The colour and clarity are also good, though the Technicolor less vibrant and saturated than is often the case, making the film look more natural.
Though I'm no expert on the Western, I do enjoy a good one and whilst this was entertaining enough, it didn't strike me as one to particularly remember. It didn't drag, wasn't boring and is probably better than average, but not quite enough for 7/10.
Gateway of courage
TheLittleSongbird18 May 2020
Wyatt Earp was another example of a fascinating person with a fascinating story, so any film about him is always welcome. It is a shame that Jacques Tourneur is as underrated as he is, as he had great talent as a director. One of the best film noirs ever 'Out of the Past' and the very influential 'Cat People' are proof of that. Joel McCrea, Vera Miles and Lloyd Bridges were always worth seeing, and all three have good performances in other films.
Anybody that loves the Western genre, or at least appreciates it, are likely to find a lot to like about 'Wichita'. To me, it is not quite a classic and is a film to be taken on its own and to be dismissed on biographical terms. 'Wichita' still struck me as very good, with a lot of things being excellent. With this film, it is easy to see why those who have heard of Tourneur and like some of his films have found appeal in him and also why the cast are as regarded as they are.
Sure 'Wichita' is cliched, with a lot of elements that people who know the genre will recognise from elsewhere. Those that know intimately about Earp and his life will despair at how the film plays fast and loose with the facts, which were even more interesting than what was presented here.
Perhaps the pace could have been tighter at times.
However, 'Wichita' is very handsomely shot, making the most of the settings that are full of unforgiving grit and atmosphere, and there are no signs of time and budget constraints visually. Tourneur's direction is exemplary, taut, elegant and frames and stages the action with accomplishment and ease. It is a very different kettle of fish to his direction for 'Out of the Past' and 'Cat People', but he didn't seem out of his depth here and it shows that he did have versatility. The music fits very well and the theme song from Tex Ritter is memorable. The script was clearly written with a lot of intelligence and is literate without being too talk heavy.
The story also compels on the most part, it excites, it doesn't hold back in the more tense scenes and it's moving in spots. As well as nostalgic. The action is spectacular, thrillingly staged and beautifully filmed. The romantic angle doesn't feel like padding or tacked on, a mistake that quite a number of similar films make. It may not be completely accurate, but it is a very well told and engaging story in its own way. Earp is a character of real authority here while being characterised in a way that makes one find it easy to empathise with his conflicts. McCrea does superbly at showing all those things in his performance too. Miles is luminous and charming and Keith Larson and Edgar Buchanan are effective in their parts.
Overall, very good and deserving of more credit. 8/10
Anybody that loves the Western genre, or at least appreciates it, are likely to find a lot to like about 'Wichita'. To me, it is not quite a classic and is a film to be taken on its own and to be dismissed on biographical terms. 'Wichita' still struck me as very good, with a lot of things being excellent. With this film, it is easy to see why those who have heard of Tourneur and like some of his films have found appeal in him and also why the cast are as regarded as they are.
Sure 'Wichita' is cliched, with a lot of elements that people who know the genre will recognise from elsewhere. Those that know intimately about Earp and his life will despair at how the film plays fast and loose with the facts, which were even more interesting than what was presented here.
Perhaps the pace could have been tighter at times.
However, 'Wichita' is very handsomely shot, making the most of the settings that are full of unforgiving grit and atmosphere, and there are no signs of time and budget constraints visually. Tourneur's direction is exemplary, taut, elegant and frames and stages the action with accomplishment and ease. It is a very different kettle of fish to his direction for 'Out of the Past' and 'Cat People', but he didn't seem out of his depth here and it shows that he did have versatility. The music fits very well and the theme song from Tex Ritter is memorable. The script was clearly written with a lot of intelligence and is literate without being too talk heavy.
The story also compels on the most part, it excites, it doesn't hold back in the more tense scenes and it's moving in spots. As well as nostalgic. The action is spectacular, thrillingly staged and beautifully filmed. The romantic angle doesn't feel like padding or tacked on, a mistake that quite a number of similar films make. It may not be completely accurate, but it is a very well told and engaging story in its own way. Earp is a character of real authority here while being characterised in a way that makes one find it easy to empathise with his conflicts. McCrea does superbly at showing all those things in his performance too. Miles is luminous and charming and Keith Larson and Edgar Buchanan are effective in their parts.
Overall, very good and deserving of more credit. 8/10
Unpretentious Joel McCrae Western.
rmax30482325 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I missed the beginning but enjoyed what I saw of this film. McCrae is Wyatt Earp, hired by the city fathers to clean up the wild town of Wichita, Kansas. He begins by prohibiting the wearing of guns in the town limits. It gives the city fathers second thoughts because, after all, a cow poke is not a cow poke without an instrument to kill, and Wichita wants the cow pokes to visit and spend their dollars in the saloon and other facilities.
Wyatt is joined by his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, and they arrest the most corrupt of the town fathers who, mistaking their identities, tries to hire them to kill Wyatt.
Lloyd Bridges is on hand for a final shoot out. Vera Miles is stunning in the way that only a beauty contest winner from a prairie state can be stunning. What do they feed their young girls in Oklahoma -- peaches, corn, and cream? Miles' father objects to the pairing of McCrae and Vera. "You know why, don't you Wyatt?" "Yes, I do." They're talking about the likelihood of Earp's being shot down on the streets, but Dad might have harboring somewhere in the back of his preconscious the realization that McCrae is about one hundred years Miles' senior. McCrae was aging by this time and following the trajectory of other fading actors by appearing in inexpensive Westerns. Even the urbane Ray Milland could be found in boots. But McCrae seems to have been a genuinely nice guy, so he's acceptable in the role. It was directed efficiently but without poetry by Jacques Tourneur, of all people. The script leaves the some of the heavies just enough humanity to raise this above the usual Manichean Western that divides people into pure good and pure evil.
It's ironic that the audience watching this on television will root for, and applaud, Wyatt Earp in his attempt to bring peace to the town by forbidding the wearing of guns -- ironic because the most powerful gun lobby in Washington has just successfully argued that the best way to prevent regular shoot outs like Wichita's is to arm everyone with guns, including school teachers.
Wyatt is joined by his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, and they arrest the most corrupt of the town fathers who, mistaking their identities, tries to hire them to kill Wyatt.
Lloyd Bridges is on hand for a final shoot out. Vera Miles is stunning in the way that only a beauty contest winner from a prairie state can be stunning. What do they feed their young girls in Oklahoma -- peaches, corn, and cream? Miles' father objects to the pairing of McCrae and Vera. "You know why, don't you Wyatt?" "Yes, I do." They're talking about the likelihood of Earp's being shot down on the streets, but Dad might have harboring somewhere in the back of his preconscious the realization that McCrae is about one hundred years Miles' senior. McCrae was aging by this time and following the trajectory of other fading actors by appearing in inexpensive Westerns. Even the urbane Ray Milland could be found in boots. But McCrae seems to have been a genuinely nice guy, so he's acceptable in the role. It was directed efficiently but without poetry by Jacques Tourneur, of all people. The script leaves the some of the heavies just enough humanity to raise this above the usual Manichean Western that divides people into pure good and pure evil.
It's ironic that the audience watching this on television will root for, and applaud, Wyatt Earp in his attempt to bring peace to the town by forbidding the wearing of guns -- ironic because the most powerful gun lobby in Washington has just successfully argued that the best way to prevent regular shoot outs like Wichita's is to arm everyone with guns, including school teachers.
Top-notch '50s western
pmtelefon25 November 2021
Joel McCrea delivers the goods once again in "Wichita". McCrea gives a solid performance in this movie. The rest of the cast is also strong. The movie looks great too. The story is well told and quite exciting at times. "Wichita" is a rock solid 1950s western. I can't wait until I see it again. Honorable mention: a never dreamier Vera Miles.
A Solid If Uninspirsed Oater
zardoz-1318 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The award-winning Golden Globe western for Best Outdoor Drama in 1956, "Wichita" reunited "Cat People" director Jacques Tourneur and leading man Joel McCrea for the third and final time. Previously, they teamed up to make the exceptional "Stars in My Crown" (1950) and "Stranger on Horseback" (1955). Although Tourneur won more kudos for his quiet little horror movies with Val Lewton, the Parisian native was no stranger to horse operas. In addition to his Joel McCrea westerns, he helmed "Canyon Passage" with Dana Andrews and "Great Day in the Morning" with Robert Stack. "Wichita" is a standard-issue, town-taming oater with McCrea cast as Wyatt Earp before he acquired his reputation as a lawman. Incidentally, when McCrea made this western, his portrayal of Earp was the tenth time that this famous badge-totter had been depicted. Prolific scenarist Dan Ullman, who also penned the screenplay for another McCrea sagebrusher "The Gunfight at Dodge City," would later reunite with Tourneur on "Great Day in the Morning." Ullman covered all the tropes in this wild and woolly western about cowboys herding cattle into a new railroad town and then blowing off with pent-up aggression as well as their pay on liquor and women. This western marked another collaboration between producer Walter Mirisch who had produced "The Gunfight at Dodge City" as well as "Fort Massacre" with McCrea. Mirisch assembled a first-rate cast that included several seasoned western actors, among them Jack Elam, Robert J. Wilke, Edgar Buchanan, Walter Coy, I. Stanford Jolly, John Smith, and Peter Graves.
Wyatt Earp (Joel McCrea of "The Virginian") rides into the wide-open cattle town on the inauguration of its first herd. In no time, he makes a reputation for himself when he foils a bank robbery and arouses the interest of the wealthiest townspeople. They marvel at his ability to handle a six-shooter without killing anybody and promptly offer him a badge that a lesser man is wearing. Politely but firmly, Wyatt turns them down until the drunken cowhands start shooting the town up and accidentally kill an innocent five-year old standing at an open window and watching their shenanigans. Town mayor Andrew Hope (Carl Benton Reid of "Escape from Fort Bravo") swears Earp in as marshal and our hero marches into the dark street armed with his six-gun and a long- barreled shotgun. He arrests the cowboys and herds them off to jail with the help of a local newspaper reporter, Bat Masterson (Keith Larson of "Last of the Badmen"), who later signs on to become his deputy before Earp's brothers Morgan (Peter Graves of "The Five-Man Army" and James (John Smith of TV's "Laramie") ride into town. Despite their repeated efforts to hire Wyatt and his general reluctance to accept the badge, the town wheels are pleased with his performance. Those halcyon days are short-lived after Wyatt issues a town proclamation that guns cannot be worn in town. Railroad entrepreneur Sam McCoy (Walter McCoy of "The Searchers") objects to this ordinance and others like fear like he does that Wyatt has doomed Wichita. When the cattlemen get wind of this law, the town big-wigs worry that they will divert their herds elsewhere and prosperity will be a thing of the past. For a while, Wyatt drives a wedge between them. The mayor refuses to fire him, while the others plot to drive him out.
"Wichita" is an above-average western with sturdy production values and good performances.
Wyatt Earp (Joel McCrea of "The Virginian") rides into the wide-open cattle town on the inauguration of its first herd. In no time, he makes a reputation for himself when he foils a bank robbery and arouses the interest of the wealthiest townspeople. They marvel at his ability to handle a six-shooter without killing anybody and promptly offer him a badge that a lesser man is wearing. Politely but firmly, Wyatt turns them down until the drunken cowhands start shooting the town up and accidentally kill an innocent five-year old standing at an open window and watching their shenanigans. Town mayor Andrew Hope (Carl Benton Reid of "Escape from Fort Bravo") swears Earp in as marshal and our hero marches into the dark street armed with his six-gun and a long- barreled shotgun. He arrests the cowboys and herds them off to jail with the help of a local newspaper reporter, Bat Masterson (Keith Larson of "Last of the Badmen"), who later signs on to become his deputy before Earp's brothers Morgan (Peter Graves of "The Five-Man Army" and James (John Smith of TV's "Laramie") ride into town. Despite their repeated efforts to hire Wyatt and his general reluctance to accept the badge, the town wheels are pleased with his performance. Those halcyon days are short-lived after Wyatt issues a town proclamation that guns cannot be worn in town. Railroad entrepreneur Sam McCoy (Walter McCoy of "The Searchers") objects to this ordinance and others like fear like he does that Wyatt has doomed Wichita. When the cattlemen get wind of this law, the town big-wigs worry that they will divert their herds elsewhere and prosperity will be a thing of the past. For a while, Wyatt drives a wedge between them. The mayor refuses to fire him, while the others plot to drive him out.
"Wichita" is an above-average western with sturdy production values and good performances.
Another FICTiONAL 50's Western.
gsbltd8 July 2018
Oh, where to beign? FIrstly: I'm born/raised in Wichita KS so I know the old girl pretty well. Even still visit "Old Cowtown" on the banks of the "Little Ar-Kansas River"... which is amazingly framed by a nonexistant mountain range! Note that phonetic pronunciation because it's just one of the many inaccuracies this old Technicolor chestnut promulgates. Typically, a character in the film calls it the "Ar-kan-saw" River. But those are the least of the offenses as this movie steadfastly portrays that thug-with-a-badge Wyatt Earp as a reticent, conquering hero. Truth is he was nothing of the kind, let alone Marshall of my hometown! Earp was just a patrolman in the seedy worehouse district of Delano, which was just on the other side of the river from "respectable" Wichita. Today Delano is filled with botiques, but in 1888 it was filthy and crawling with rats an stray dogs.. in fact, young Wyatt honed his pistol skills by shooting mongrels for the palty bounty the city offered... money he would later gamble away playing Faro at a local table. He was also himself once arrested for disorderly conduct. Earp was a piece of work, all right! In constrast, his buddy Bat Masterson was a decent lawman and one of the few who would live to tell about his wild days on the Kansas prairies - he retired writing a sports column for a NY newspaper. But Wyatt Earp still had an infamous career ahead, including the disgrace that was the OK Corral and his subsequent vigilantism as he and his merrry band roamed the countryside to murder those who were already exonerated in court of law. Earp finished his days as a respected advisor to Hollywood silent films where he perpetuated the myth of white-hatted good guys. Appropriartely -in real life- Wyatt Earp always wore a black one. But the mythical legacy he left behind was still a strong one as this turgid potboiler demonstrates.
Top "B" Plus Western!
bsmith555219 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Just about every major star had a go at playing Wyatt Earp at one time or another from Burt Lancaster to Henry Fonda. This was Joel McCrea's turn.
Wyatt Earp (McCrea) is on his way to Wichita, Kansas, a wide open lawless cow town. On his way he stops at Clint Wallace's (Walter Sande) camp. Wallace is driving a herd to Wichita for shipment east. Among his crew are his Ramrod Ben Thompson (Robert J. Wilke) and the Clements Brothers, Gyp (Lloyd Bridges) and Hal (Rayford Barnes). The Clements attempt to rob Wyatt but are caught. Wyatt battles with Gyp in a knock down drag out fight.
Later in Wichita, Wyatt hoping to become a business man, foils an attempted bank robbery. Mayor Hope (Carl Benton Reid) and railroad man Sam McCoy (Walter Coy) ask Wyatt to take on the town marshal's job, but he refuses. Wyatt meets McCoy's family his wife (Mae Clarke) and daughter Laurie (Vera Miles) with whom he takes an interest.
When Wallace's crew hits town they get drunk and start shooting up the place, a young boy is accidently killed. Wyatt angered, has a change of heart and takes the badge. With the help of newspaper editor Arthur Whiteside (Wallace Ford) and his assistant Bat Masterson (Keith Larsen), Wyatt rounds up the rowdies and jails them and later runs them out of town.
The town elders including Mayor Hope, McCoy, Doc Black (Edgar Buchanan) and Stanton (I. Stanford Jolley) want to fire Wyatt because he is driving away the drovers. Black tries to hire what he believes to be two gunfighters to kill Wyatt, but they turn out to be Wyatt's brothers, Morgan (Peter Graves) and James (John Smith). They then run Black out of town.
Doc Black returns one night with Al (Jack Elam) and Hal Clements, shooting up the McCoy home where they think Wyatt is visiting but they kill Mrs. McCoy accidently instead. Wyatt and his brothers pursue the bandits and kill Al and Hal Clements. Black flees and goes to the Wallace camp in an attempt to turn them against the Earps. Wallace leads his men to town to avenge the two men but relent when Wyatt tells them of Mrs. McCoy's death. Gyp Clements challenges Wyatt as Black sneaks back into town and..............................................................
Joel McCrea heads up a cast of reliable western veterans right down to the smallest parts. Wilke, Bridges, Buchanan, Sande, Elam, the list goes on. Unfortunately, the talented Vera Miles is wasted as the heroine. She is given little opportunity to display her talent here. Mae Clark you might remember, was the girl into whose face James Cagney pushed a grapefruit in "The Public Enemy" (1931).
Wyatt Earp (McCrea) is on his way to Wichita, Kansas, a wide open lawless cow town. On his way he stops at Clint Wallace's (Walter Sande) camp. Wallace is driving a herd to Wichita for shipment east. Among his crew are his Ramrod Ben Thompson (Robert J. Wilke) and the Clements Brothers, Gyp (Lloyd Bridges) and Hal (Rayford Barnes). The Clements attempt to rob Wyatt but are caught. Wyatt battles with Gyp in a knock down drag out fight.
Later in Wichita, Wyatt hoping to become a business man, foils an attempted bank robbery. Mayor Hope (Carl Benton Reid) and railroad man Sam McCoy (Walter Coy) ask Wyatt to take on the town marshal's job, but he refuses. Wyatt meets McCoy's family his wife (Mae Clarke) and daughter Laurie (Vera Miles) with whom he takes an interest.
When Wallace's crew hits town they get drunk and start shooting up the place, a young boy is accidently killed. Wyatt angered, has a change of heart and takes the badge. With the help of newspaper editor Arthur Whiteside (Wallace Ford) and his assistant Bat Masterson (Keith Larsen), Wyatt rounds up the rowdies and jails them and later runs them out of town.
The town elders including Mayor Hope, McCoy, Doc Black (Edgar Buchanan) and Stanton (I. Stanford Jolley) want to fire Wyatt because he is driving away the drovers. Black tries to hire what he believes to be two gunfighters to kill Wyatt, but they turn out to be Wyatt's brothers, Morgan (Peter Graves) and James (John Smith). They then run Black out of town.
Doc Black returns one night with Al (Jack Elam) and Hal Clements, shooting up the McCoy home where they think Wyatt is visiting but they kill Mrs. McCoy accidently instead. Wyatt and his brothers pursue the bandits and kill Al and Hal Clements. Black flees and goes to the Wallace camp in an attempt to turn them against the Earps. Wallace leads his men to town to avenge the two men but relent when Wyatt tells them of Mrs. McCoy's death. Gyp Clements challenges Wyatt as Black sneaks back into town and..............................................................
Joel McCrea heads up a cast of reliable western veterans right down to the smallest parts. Wilke, Bridges, Buchanan, Sande, Elam, the list goes on. Unfortunately, the talented Vera Miles is wasted as the heroine. She is given little opportunity to display her talent here. Mae Clark you might remember, was the girl into whose face James Cagney pushed a grapefruit in "The Public Enemy" (1931).
Another Wyatt Earp Story
kenjha7 August 2011
Wyatt Earp cleans up the title town after it's overrun by rowdy cattlemen. Made nine years after "My Darling Clementine," the definitive film about Earp, this standard oater focuses on the legendary gunman's early career. McCrea would have been well suited to the role except that he was 50 when this film was made and was much too old to be playing Earp as a young man starting his career as a frontier lawman. It also looks a bit creepy when he is romancing the lovely Miles, who was young enough to have played his daughter. Earp is assisted here by Bat Masterson, a role McCrea himself played a few years later in "The Gunfight at Dodge City."
Decent Western
darth7625 June 2001
The strong personality of Wyatt Earp has inspired many western so far. This one is quite old, 45 years old, but is quite decent and concrete.It focuses in the time when Wyatt Earp was a sheriff in Wichita, Kansas, before his trip to Dodge City.Starring Joel McCrea, who was a big star of western movies during the 1950s.
Different Perspective on Wyatt Earp
Richie-67-4858525 October 2017
First off the head star Joel McCrea does a great job in portraying a man of the west. He is tall, has a good build, great demeanor and comes across mellow until he has to come across another way. This one has it all: Bad and good guys, love interest, lots of horses, cattle, cowboys, shooting, drinking, saloon activities, painted ladies, piano playing with a touch of what it was like back then at the start of the cattle boom along with the railroad teaming up. Good supporting staff plus direction makes it come alive and make sense. We all have heard about the shoot-out at the OK corral in Tombstone but this takes place prior to that in Wichita where he had done some good work. They even mention in this movie that he was known for some other heroic deed prior to that. So we get to be in a part of his history courtesy of this movie. Pay special attention to his sidearm. Its a cannon and supports the premise of one shot one kill and don't make me pull-it which btw Earp utters a couple of times which helps to build tension and suspense. Very easy in this movie to root for the good guys and boo the bad guys. Nice closure at the end and I highly recommend singing along with the end credit song to just end it all on a whooping good note. Those old Western songs do the trick! I ate some home roasted pine nuts and had a tasty drink during this movie plus a meat dish with Quinoa all delicious. Plan your watching now and enjoy. Let's ride all you pards!
old school western
SnoopyStyle6 May 2023
Buffalo hunter Wyatt Earp (Joel McCrea) comes upon a group of cowboys bringing their cattle to Wichita, Kansas. Gyp Clements (Lloyd Bridges) and another cowboy try to rob him while he slept. It doesn't go well for Gyp. Wyatt finds the booming Wichita, a violent lawless place, where the slogan is "Everything Goes in Wichita". The quick-draw shoots some bank robbers and falls for Laurie McCoy (Vera Miles). Drunken cowboys rampage through the town and Wyatt is appointed the new Marshal.
It's an old school western with Joel McCrea. It's great to have Lloyd Bridges as the foil. It's good. I would like more of a gunfight in the climax. Two villains are not enough. They have a whole crew. They should climax with a bigger gun battle.
It's an old school western with Joel McCrea. It's great to have Lloyd Bridges as the foil. It's good. I would like more of a gunfight in the climax. Two villains are not enough. They have a whole crew. They should climax with a bigger gun battle.
Excellent For What It Is
jromanbaker5 May 2022
Films tell lies, and they tell lies because they are fictions. Based on this person or that situation only accentuates the necessary lie that very few of the actions or people related to them were ever like that. I accept this because ' culture ' hold a mirror up to life and often the mirror is distorted. Wyatt Earp, the controversial man of so many books and films is portrayed very cleanly and very well by Joel McCrea. I even wanted to stop thinking he had to be Earp but just a man who believed in cleaning up the town of Wichita of too many trigger happy men who lived by the law of the gun. He arrives in town and a horde of men bringing business to Wichita go on a gun spree and a five year old child is killed by one of their bullets. A daringly awful action and a shocking scene that is not evasively filmed. An ordinary housewife later on is killed in the same way and the rotten spark in people is shown quite clearly; have a gun, use it and accidentally or not innocence is destroyed. This problem continues to this day and Earp's own use of the gun puts the town into some sort of order. I think this Jacques Tourneur film is brilliantly filmed, and despite many fictions of the time Earp was in Wichita the film is resolutely against gun ' freedom, ' and that for me sets it apart from many other Westerns which have a ' freer ' attitude, and glorify in the use of guns. The very fine actor Vera Miles plays the fiction of being Earp's focus of love and lasting marriage. She acts well, but too little is seen of her. The cast is excellent and as cinema it is first rate and my only fault was the over glamorised song that bookends the film. A certain reality is shown here and the death of the child is hauntingly memorable for its showing how that stray bullet can go brutally astray, killing the future of innocents and also maiming the lives of those close and left behind. See it and perhaps like me you will see how fictions tell uncomfortable truths.
Watchable -- definitely; quality film -- no
vincentlynch-moonoi12 December 2012
Warning: Spoilers
The way you can tell a "B" Western -- and this IS a B Western -- is not always the actors. This movie has a pretty good cast. Joel McCrea (who should have never gone into Westerns in my view) is a really good actor...and he is good here. The supporting cast is pretty decent, too -- Vera Miles, Lloyd Bridges (in his bad-guy era), Wallace Ford, Edgar Buchanan, and Peter Graves. And they do their jobs well.
And, it's not always the story the makes a movie a B movie...although the story here is -- as a couple of other reviewers pointed out -- a little too simplistic.
Sometimes it's just the lack of care that is taken in the production. For example the first day the new railroad comes into town it's on tracks rather overgrown with weeds. Or the high mountains outside Wichita...high mountains in Kansas??? In other words, throw a Western together. It's the 1950s and Westerns are hot. It'll get good box office...and it did. Today this little Western would go nowhere at the box office. I doubt it would even make into theatres. But, that's not to say it's unwatchable. It's slightly better than the average mid-1950s Western.
And, it's not always the story the makes a movie a B movie...although the story here is -- as a couple of other reviewers pointed out -- a little too simplistic.
Sometimes it's just the lack of care that is taken in the production. For example the first day the new railroad comes into town it's on tracks rather overgrown with weeds. Or the high mountains outside Wichita...high mountains in Kansas??? In other words, throw a Western together. It's the 1950s and Westerns are hot. It'll get good box office...and it did. Today this little Western would go nowhere at the box office. I doubt it would even make into theatres. But, that's not to say it's unwatchable. It's slightly better than the average mid-1950s Western.
Whichita in DVD
Jean-Jacques Allain28 September 2002
It is for me a very good film, one of the best western of cinema's story. Jacques Tourneur proves here that he is a great director and if still many cinema critics are not convinced, I recommend them to read the book about Jacques Tourneur by Chris Fujiwara. I wait for the DVD coupled with for example the beautiful stranger on a horseback.
Simple-minded boring and mediocre
MovieIQTest9 June 2015
here we got another pretty old guy playing a middle-aged romeo and the legendary hero. this mediocre western provided tailor made shirts and pants, cool gun belts, crazy low-life mindless childish cowboys. when they reached Wichita, the horses they rode in, lined up along the street in front of the taverns and bars just like what we did today, parking our cars one by one if we were lucky enough to find a space where the meter was running, 4 hoofs replaced by 4 wheels, the only difference is those horses didn't have to pay state and city taxes to get the license plates, pay the annual vehicle registration fee, horses riding over two years didn't need to pay another fee for smog check. guns were like adult toys in moronic childish hands to shoot aimlessly. nowadays, the guns fired from the thugs and gang-bangers to the sky in los Angeles or other big cities, the stray bullets also killed a lot of people.
all the western movies always come with loud music to glorified the scenes, when train arrived, the main character rode into town, before and after the duels, or rode into wildness, into the sunset afterward, the sound track would blast loud music to accommodate those scenes, some of the movies even never stopped playing music. this kinda format really annoyed me to the extreme and i have to turn down the volume all the time when i watched these kinda movies and i am tired of it.
all the western movies always come with loud music to glorified the scenes, when train arrived, the main character rode into town, before and after the duels, or rode into wildness, into the sunset afterward, the sound track would blast loud music to accommodate those scenes, some of the movies even never stopped playing music. this kinda format really annoyed me to the extreme and i have to turn down the volume all the time when i watched these kinda movies and i am tired of it.
wichita
mossgrymk29 May 2023
This fairly good western from Jacques Tourneur is set in a time and place quite far from our present consciousness. How far, exactly? Well, let's just say that the story turns on the random, fatal shooting of a child and the immediate gun safety measures that are put in place as a result...a somewhat quaint notion when viewed today. At least in my benighted country.
Joel McCrea's Wyatt Earp is solid, if unspectacular, especially when measured by other interpreters of this mythic character such as Fonda and Garner, my top two faves*. He projects the proper strength that is needed in the role but somehow the humor has been lost and McCrea's is just too much of a straight arrow, "Howdy ma'am" performance for my taste. And speaking of "howdy ma'am", it is most distressing to see Vera Miles, a good actress when given a character to play, not given a character to play in Daniel Ullman's screenplay. Also, Earp without Doc Holliday just seems wrong somehow, like doughnuts without coffee. And Keith Larsen's pretty boy Bat Masterson doesn't begin to fill the Holliday-less void. Partially making up for these acting and writing lapses are good studies in cynicism and moral ambiguity from Edgar Buchanan, Carl Benton Reid and Wallace Ford, the later of whom is given the best speech in the film, a drunken newspaper editor's ode to chaos and dystopia. Give it a B minus.
Top ten Wyatt Earp movie performances
10) James Stewart, "Cheyenne Autumn" 9) Will Geer, "Winchester 73" 8) Harris Yulin, "Doc" 7) McCrae 6) Kevin Costner,"Wyatt Earp" 5) Kurt Russell, "Tombstone" 4) James Garner, "Sunset" 3) Burt Lancaster, "OK Corral" 2) James Garner, "Hour Of The Gun" 1) Henry Fonda, "Clementine"
Joel McCrea's Wyatt Earp is solid, if unspectacular, especially when measured by other interpreters of this mythic character such as Fonda and Garner, my top two faves*. He projects the proper strength that is needed in the role but somehow the humor has been lost and McCrea's is just too much of a straight arrow, "Howdy ma'am" performance for my taste. And speaking of "howdy ma'am", it is most distressing to see Vera Miles, a good actress when given a character to play, not given a character to play in Daniel Ullman's screenplay. Also, Earp without Doc Holliday just seems wrong somehow, like doughnuts without coffee. And Keith Larsen's pretty boy Bat Masterson doesn't begin to fill the Holliday-less void. Partially making up for these acting and writing lapses are good studies in cynicism and moral ambiguity from Edgar Buchanan, Carl Benton Reid and Wallace Ford, the later of whom is given the best speech in the film, a drunken newspaper editor's ode to chaos and dystopia. Give it a B minus.
Top ten Wyatt Earp movie performances
10) James Stewart, "Cheyenne Autumn" 9) Will Geer, "Winchester 73" 8) Harris Yulin, "Doc" 7) McCrae 6) Kevin Costner,"Wyatt Earp" 5) Kurt Russell, "Tombstone" 4) James Garner, "Sunset" 3) Burt Lancaster, "OK Corral" 2) James Garner, "Hour Of The Gun" 1) Henry Fonda, "Clementine"
Unwatchable claptrap.... and I love Joel McCrea!
keith-7315 February 2010
Joel McCrea was 50 when he made this movie. The real Wyatt Earp, when he took the job in Wichita, Kansas, was 28. "He only shot to wound those fellas" is also claptrap. This movie is filled with this "made for kids" dialog and fight scenes. Wrongs are righted, the bad guys are caught, and all is right with the world. TV was a booming place for TV westerns in the mid 50's, and this was right out of that world. Sorry, but this film is just plain laughable.
It has all the usual characters-- well dressed saloon bosses, the boozy newspaper man with a secret past, the town marshal who has a yellow streak a mile wide. Cattle barons and cow punchers who feel it's their duty to tear a town apart. All the "saloon girls: are wearing fancy duds without a hair out of place and perfect makeup-- but they don't show cleavage. Yeah, right.... Pass.
It has all the usual characters-- well dressed saloon bosses, the boozy newspaper man with a secret past, the town marshal who has a yellow streak a mile wide. Cattle barons and cow punchers who feel it's their duty to tear a town apart. All the "saloon girls: are wearing fancy duds without a hair out of place and perfect makeup-- but they don't show cleavage. Yeah, right.... Pass.
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