A multi-faceted and beloved actor coming out of Hollywood’s Golden Age, the great Gregory Peck has embodied many classic Western characters, from Lewton ‘Lewt’ McCanles in Duel in the Sun to James ‘Stretch’ Dawson in The Yellow Sky. Yet, one of Gregory Peck’s most acclaimed Westerns, The Gunfighter, highlights the actor at his best and, thanks to its innovative approach to the genre, has become a hallmark of the genre.
In the seminal movie, Gregory Peck played Johnny Ringo, an actual historical figure in the West. We will examine the real man who inspired The Gunfighter and see how accurately (or inaccurately) the Gregory Peck-led Western captures the gunslinging outlaw.
The Plot and Cast of Gregory Peck’s The Gunfighter
The Gunfighter
5/5
Jimmy Ringo is a veteran gunslinger known for being quick on the draw, but his talent inevitably leads to trouble, with others constantly out to challenge him. All Ringo wants is to be reunited with his estranged family, but he has to contend with various foes, including the ambitious young sharpshooter Hunt Bromley. As Ringo attempts to reconcile with his wife, Peggy, he finds that he can’t easily shake his violent past.
- Release Date
- August 21, 1950
- Director
- Henry King
- Cast
- gregory peck , Helen Westcott , Millard Mitchell , Jean Parker , Karl Malden , Skip Homeier , Anthony Ross , Verna Felton
- Runtime
- 85 Minutes
- Writers
- William Bowers , William Sellers , André De Toth
The Gunfighter follows an infamous gunslinger with the ‘fastest draw’ at the time, Jimmy Ringo, who is seeking redemption in an effort to reunite with his estranged wife and son. However, with his reputation preceding him, he soon finds himself challenged by others looking to make a name for themselves despite his desire to settle. He ends up killing a young man, Eddie, in a duel, marking his 14th kill. This causes Eddie’s remaining brothers to try to hunt him down, and Johnny soon learns he can’t escape his past and the legacy he has built around himself.
23 Best Westerns on Tubi to Watch Right Now
It’s time to saddle up, partners. These are the best Westerns available for free on Tubi to watch right now.
The movie stars Gregory Peck, who, for fans of the Western and the Golden Age of Hollywood, needs little introduction, being one of the most popular actors from the 1940s to the 1970s. Notable supporting cast included Millard Mitchell, Helen Westcott, Jean Parker, and Karl Malden. Its gorgeous and refined cinematography came from the great Arthur C. Miller in his second-to-last film; he won three Oscars (for How Green Was My Valley, The Song of Bernadette, and Anna and the King of Siam) among six nominations.
The movie was directed by Henry King, who, throughout his career dating as far back as 1915, was considered one of the most hardworking and versatile directors. King also had a particular knack for adapting literary works, like A Bell for Adano (1945) and The Sun Also Rises (1957). The Gunfighter, though, was an original script from William Bowers and Andre de Toth (which was nominated for an Oscar). The movie has been attributed to pioneering the “psychological Western” and is considered, by many, to be among the best of all time in the Western genre.
However, the movie underperformed at the box office, with what has to be one of the most humorous excuses: that Gregory Peck’s mustache ruined the movie’s appeal to a broader audience. Reportedly, the head of the production at Fox, Spyros P. Skouras, had approached the actor, telling him, “That mustache cost us millions.” Still, The Gunfighter has withstood the test of time, mustache be damned.
Who Was Johnny Ringo?
Born John Peters Ringo on May 3, 1850, in Greens Fork, Indiana, Ringo’s earlier years are marked by a few key events and a lot of ambiguity. It has been attributed that the death of his father when Ringo was 14 years old, after an accidental discharge of his shotgun while the family was moving, marked a life-changing trauma. However, the years afterward when Ringo traveled from California to San Jose are largely unknown in how they shaped the man’s embrace of a lawless lifestyle.
The Best Westerns Based on True Stories, Ranked
From Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to The Searchers, here are some of the best Westerns that are based on true stories.
Johnny Ringo’s infamy began when he participated in the Mason County War in Texas in the 1870s as part of the Cooley Gang, which also marked his first murder. In 1879, he settled in Tombstone, Arizona, where most of his story was recorded. Joining up with the Clanton gang, known as the “Cowboys,” Ringo became an antagonist to the well-documented figures of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Notably, Ringo found himself in the direct line of the ire of the Earps’, on suspicion of being involved in the attempted murder of Virgil Earp and the killing of Morgan Earp, even though he was not present at the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral where the deaths happened.
It is in Tombstone that Ringo would meet his end, found with a bullet in his head on July 13, 1882. His death was originally ruled a suicide, with Ringo being an alcoholic and even threatening to end his own life on various occasions. However, there has been a lot of speculation about the events, with alternative theories posed, including murder by either an unknown assailant looking to add his name to their collection, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday collectively taking him out, or a scout with a distaste for the man, Buckskin Frank Leslie, executing him after finding him alone and asleep under a tree. How much is unknown about Johnny Ringo, including his death, frames how little The Gunfighter got right about the famous outlaw.
What The Gunfighter Gets Right and Wrong About Johnny Ringo
Simply put, The Gunfighter gets it right that there was an outlaw named Johnny Ringo who was a prominent gunslinger and that he died after being shot. Beyond that, The Gunfighter is completely fictitious in depicting Johnny Ringo. There are no records of Johnny Ringo having an estranged family he tried to reconcile with, and the means of his death are somewhat contended but do not follow the dramatic approach taken in The Gunslinger. Moreover, a troubled Ringo dealing with his violent actions in the past is entirely to create a cinematic narrative around the character.
Does the Best Western of All Time According to Rotten Tomatoes Still Hold Up?
After a closer look, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly still stands as a beautiful portrait of Western revival.
An Impossible Gunfighter: The Unknown Johnny Ringo
Johnny Ringo has been used in many movies because of his ties to prominent Western figures through his long-standing feud with Marshal Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. This includes a 1959-1960 TV series, Johnny Ringo, starring Don Durant and, most notably, the 1993 film Tombstone, in which Michael Biehn played the villainous gunslinger. However, in both of these instances, many liberties were taken with the character. Tombstone at least places him in the right time frame along with other men Johnny fought against, but there is a reason why Johnny Ringo has not seen a proper telling of his life’s story.
This is due to Ringo being a prominent figure who is also shrouded in mystery. Little is known about his early life, and he is considered a loner of sorts, even as a seasoned criminal. According to existing accounts, the real Johnny Ringo had gained a reputation as a moody, hard-drinking loner who quoted Shakespeare. He was charismatic but had a sad demeanor, pointing to a rather self-protected figure.
The ambiguity around his history and withdrawn personality make a realistic adaptation of Johnny Ringo nearly impossible; it also explains why he is a favored historical figure to adapt to the screen. Still, even as a fictitious interpretation of a man riddled with guilt, Ringo’s real-life troubled demeanor is an apt choice for the story that The Gunfighter wanted to tell.
20 Non-Traditional Westerns That Took the Genre to New Places
These films had a Western bent but were genre-defying, incorporating everything from horror to science fiction into the form.
Where to Watch The Gunfighter (and Why)
The Gunfighter is certainly worth a watch for fans of the genre and those interested in film history. It has been considered a precursor to stand-out films such as High Noon, The Naked Spur, 3:10 to Yuma (1957), and especially John Wayne’s final film, The Shootist. Dressed in black to match his hair and eyes, Gregory Peck strikes a dark, intimidating, and sad character, a man doomed by his skill. It’s a melancholic and gripping character study of a murderer who knows there’s a bullet out there with his name on it, and who wants to repair what little relationships he has before what’s coming for him finally arrives.
Thankfully, given its release date, it is relatively easy to find. You can stream The Gunslinger on Tubi, Crackle, Plex, and Xumo Play for free, on Peacock, Plex, or Fubo, and find it on YouTube for free. Those interested in seeing the character of Johnny Ringo in a slightly more accurate light can stream 1993’s Tombstone on Hulu. You can watch The Gunfighter for free through the link below:
