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Jan 23, 2025 Web Exclusive By Austin Trunick Photography by The Criterion Collection

Two men stand deadlocked in a high-stakes shooting competition. The grand prize of Dodge City’s centennial celebration, a One of One Thousand model Winchester 1873, a near-mythical rifle said to be manufactured to the highest standards of perfection, has lured in the most capable shooters from across the West. One such man is Lin McAdam (James Stewart), who has spent years tracking down outlaw Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally), a man he intends to kill—and the man he so happens to be trading trick shots against in the competition’s final round. When Dutch escapes after the contest’s conclusion along with Lin’s fairly-won Winchester, the skilled marksman chases him deep into hostile territory to get back his gun and settle a score that stretches back decades.

The first film in a long-running collaboration between star Jimmy Stewart and director Anothy Mann, the runaway box office success of Winchester ‘73 (1950) is credited with reviving the Western genre as its popularity had begun to sag. It’s of further historical note for being the first instance of an actor negotiating for a percentage of a movie’s box office take; Stewart not only gambled (and struck big) on the movie being a hit, but was granted some creative sway in suggesting the movie’s director and his co-stars.

Winchester ‘73 also helped steer his image away from a wholesome, all-American lad he played before the War, and opened up opportunities for him to take on characters with greater moral ambiguity. From this point forward the pathos which occasionally bubbled under the surface of Stewart’s earlier performances could be worn out in the open. His gunfighter here is a man on a mission, so focused on exacting vengeance on a fugitive that he’s barely able to notice the lovely blonde piano player (Shelley Winters) throwing herself at him. He’s angry, stubborn, bloodthirsty, and unpredictable. And yet, there’s a nobleness that remains ingrained in Stewart’s on-screen person; even as he talks of killing a man, you’ll never question whether or not he’s doing it for the right reasons.

The bonus materials on Criterion’s new 4K release of Winchester ‘73 go a long way in further detailing how this film helped usher in new phases of both Stewart and Mann’s careers; Stewart as the embittered hero, and Mann’s transition from crime b-films to cowboy blockbusters. Forces of Nature: Anthony Mann at Universal, a near hour-long documentary from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, examines Mann’s work through the 1950s, which was largely defined by his Stewart Westerns. Imogen Sara Smith’s booklet essay examines not only this transitory period for both figures, but the movie’s imagery. An additional interview with Adam Piron looks at the film’s portrayal of Native Americans within the context of the times. (No surprise, there are issues: Rock Hudson plays a villainous chieftan.) Archival additions are a vintage radio adaptation of the film in which Stewart reprises his role, and an old commentary track where Stewart was joined by historian Paul Lindenschmidt.

Mann was less interested in the sweeping scenery seen in some of his contemporaries’ Westerns, but the 4K restoration still provides some eye candy — particularly in its highly visible textures, from the fibers in the gunfighters’ wool shirts, the stains on their leather vests, to the rough-surfaced rocks and heavily-worn wooden furniture. The mono soundtrack is crisp and clear, and the film’s many gunshots are appropriately loud. It’s a very strong presentation overall, with a really nice set of bonus features.

(www.criterion.com/films/28997-winchester-73)