Aging gunslinger, Jimmy Ringo, rides into a strange town where he’s immediately recognized. As kids gather at the saloon windows to glimpse the killer and townsfolk gossip about his exploits, the town marshal tries to keep the peace. He wants Ringo out of town, but Ringo asks for a few hours’ grace to see his sweetheart, whom he hasn’t seen in more than eight years, and their son, whom he’s never seen. Meanwhile, three angry cowboys are on his trail and the town’s young hothead is scheming to see just how fast Jimmy is. Ringo wants to be left alone, to live with his family, maybe on a small ranch away from his reputation. But can he escape that reputation and find peace? —IMDb
After a start as a stage actor, Henry Kingbegan appearing in films in 1912, and by 1915 was directing. King made numerous dramas, westerns, and actioners over the teens, achieving special distinction with his 1919 comedy 23-1/2 Hours Leave. Two years later he co-wrote, produced, and directed the landmark rural drama Tol’able David; his other important works of the ‘20s include The White Sister (1923), Romola (1925), and The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926). A prolific and reliable craftsman, King made numerous handsome films into the early 1960s, most notably two outstanding films with Gregory Peck: a psychological drama of World War II, Twelve O’Clock High (1942), and the moody, intelligent western The Gunfighter (1950). King’s career is also notable for his feeling for Americana, as found in 1930s projects as different as State Fair (1933), Jesse James (1939), and In Old Chicago (1938), as well as in such later films as Remember the Day (1941) and Wait ’Til the Sun Shines, Nellie… read more
A simple film about maturity and the repercussions of consequence. The cinematography is stunning and for me it's Pecks greatest performance. My all time favorite western.
A good film, and nice performance by Peck, but it played pretty loose with history and who Ringo was.
Henry King’s moody and masterful western pushed the boundaries of the cinematic west, leavening a large dose of reality into the central myth of the lone gunslinger, and was one of the early examples… read review
