The Gunfighter

From the Chicago Reader (June 30, 2006). — J.R.

This superb 1950 tragedy about a former gunfighter (Gregory Peck in a handlebar mustache) trying to shake off his violent past and its attendant celebrity doesn’t have the sort of reputation among auteurist critics that it deserves, largely because it was directed by the out-of-fashion Henry King. But it’s one of the earliest and best antiwesterns, made before the subgenre became self-conscious about critiquing the standard myths. Some that followed are merely contrary; this has the ring of truth. William Bowers and William Sellers collaborated on the script; with Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden, and Skip Homeier. 85 min. Also on the program: Daffy Doodles (1946), a Daffy Duck and Porky Pig cartoon by Robert McKimson. Sat 7/1, 8 PM, LaSalle Bank Cinema.

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