Main Cast: Richard Widmark, Lena Horne, Carroll O'Connor, David Opatoshu, Kent Smith
Release Year: 1969
Country: US
Run Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Famed anonymous director Alan Smithee (in this case a hybrid of Richard Totten and Don Siegel), directed this turgid western drama concerning Marshal Frank Patch (Richard Widmark), who, even though he has kept the peace in Cottonwood Springs for over twenty years, is now considered a local joke by the town liberals who want some new blood in the Marshall's Office. They get it when Patch shoots the drunken Luke Mills (James Lydon) in self-defense. Now the forces of progress really want Patch out. So much so that the local newspaper editor, Andrew Oxley (Kent Smith) demands his resignation. Patch not only refuses to quit but disgraces Oxley so badly in front of his son Will (Mercer Harris) that Oxley kills himself. Will is now out for blood, but Patch remains stoic, even when his old friend Lou (John Saxon) comes to town to advise him to quit. Patch refuses Lou's suggestion but decides to marry Claire (Lena Horne), the owner of the local saloon and whore house. But an uninvited guest attends the wedding ceremony --Will. And both Will and his gun are loaded. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Alexander Golitzen - Art Director, Howard E. Johnson - Art Director, Helen Colvig - Costume Designer, Don Siegel - Director, Alan Smithee - Director, Robert J. Totten - Director, Robert F. Shugrue - Editor, Oliver Nelson - Composer (Music Score), Stanley Wilson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Carol Hall - Songwriter, Oliver Nelson - Songwriter, Bud Westmore - Makeup, Andrew Jackson - Cinematographer, Richard E. Lyons - Producer, John McCarthy - Set Designer, Sandy Grace - Set Designer, Waldon O. Watson - Sound/Sound Designer, Melvin M. Metcalfe Sr. - Sound/Sound Designer, Joseph Calvelli - Screenwriter, Lewis B. Patten - Book Author
Death of a Gunfighter is a 1969Western film. It is most notable for the first use of the pseudonymousAllen Smitheedirectorial credit. It stars Richard Widmark and Lena Horne, and features an original score by Oliver Nelson. The film develops its story around the "passing" of the West, the clash between a traditional character and the politics and demands of modern society.
The film began under the direction of Robert Totten, an experienced television director (Gunsmoke, The Legend of Jesse James). After clashes with star Widmark, and almost a year of work, he was dropped and replaced by Don Siegel. When the film was finished Siegel did not want his name to replace Totten's. Widmark protested and an agreement was made with the Directors Guild of America for the pseudonym Alan Smithee to be used.
Despite this, critics praised the film and its "new" director, with The New York Times commenting that the film was "sharply directed by Allen Smithee who has an adroit facility for scanning faces and extracting sharp background detail,"[1] and Roger Ebert commenting, "Director Allen Smithee, a name I'm not familiar with, allows his story to unfold naturally."[2]
References
^ Thompson, Howard (May 10 1969). "Screen: Tough Western: 'Death of a Gunfighter' Stars Widmark" New York Times[1]
