Review of Winchester '73 (1950) by Private U — 14 Jan 2008
Jimmy Stewart wins the titular Winchester rifle in a shooting contest (he and his arch enemy being the only finalists, of course), but this enemy soon steals it from him. We follow several storylines in this movie - not just the trail of the gun, as it gets passed from person to person, but also James Stewart and Shelly Winters' prospective stories, which eventually cross together during an Indian raid, and then branch away - only to cross together again at the climax.
The so-called twist ending of this film isn't much of a twist (my sister correctly guessed it about fifteen minutes into the film), but it's the minor characters that really set this film apart, and make it worth a watch.
Dan Duryea in particular steals the show, and after his character is killed off (not to give anything away or anything...), the rest of the film seems boring in comparison.
This review of Winchester '73 (1950) was written by Private U on 14 Jan 2008.
Winchester '73 has generally received very positive reviews.
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