Carbine Williams

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Carbine Williams

Famously likeable James Stewart did his share of dramatic roles, although most were of simple, everyday fellas, so in CARBINE WILLIAMS he gets to play a determined, insanely stubborn loser... Although he starts out nice enough in a frame story about the titular gun-maker whose backstory begins with a perfect marriage contrasting a secret, very illegal and dangerous moonshine gig... But CARBINE is mostly a hard-line prison flick, initially of the chain-gang nature, and Stewart does a pretty good job as a convict who refuses to give in, even to logic when there's a nice-enough warden (Wendell Corey) on the last stretch... As Stewart remains an edgy, sullen wishbone between token rebel Paul Stewart, always planning an escape, while avoiding perfectly-patient wife Jean Hagen in a nifty biopic with a little more run-time than the usual time-filling programmer.

From a 1951 Reader's Digest article, Marsh Williams (James Stewart) works at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut. His son David gets into a fight and Marsh brings him to prison warden Capt. H.T. Peoples to scare straight. Peoples recounts the story of Marsh's life from moonshining to incarceration where he handmakes a rifle which would be incorporated into the M1 Carbine. It's a straight and narrow biopic. Jimmy Stewart delivers all the rooting interest from inner personal charms. Mostly, there isn't much drama in the way that this is told. It needs to heighten the danger when he's in the prison. In the end, this is a movie for Jimmy Stewart fans or maybe gun fans...

Some how I just seemed to have missed this great film of James Stewart and his great acting and a very entertaining film. James Stewart,(David Marshall,'Marsh',Williams),"Bell Book & Candle",'58, winds up in a prison camp with nice stripe uniforms and a very bad attitude towards writing home to his wife, and his prison warden, Wendell Corey,(Capt. H.T. Peoples),"The Big Knife",'55. Capt. Peoples tries to break Marsh down to his way of thinking and as a result, he starts making automatic weapons. Jean Hagen,(Maggie Williams),"The Big Knife",'55, gave an outstanding supporting role as the wife of Marsh. If you want to see a young Stewart and a very entertaining story, watch this great CLASSIC!

Any film with Jimmy Stewart of Henry Fonda in it is a guaranteed very good film. "Carbine Williams" is no exception. When he takes on a role, you can't imagine anyone else doing a better job. Here he plays a man from a large country family in North Carolina who is very self-centered, but a decent fellow. After busting up rocks for a railroad for 40 cents an hour, he finds building boilers a better option. It turns out these boilers are used for illegal 'stills' and before long he is distilling whiskey. This leads to trouble and a prison sentence. It goes on from there. Stewart is terrific as is Wendell Corey and Jean Hagen as his loving wife. The true story is based on an article in Reader's Digest "Most Unforgettable Person" series. It is available from Warner Bros. Archive Collection on (barebones) DVD.

I saw this movie when I was 15 and just saw it again tonight on TV. In the Army I used the M-1 Carbine, won a rapid fire competition with 7 our of 8 bulls eyes at 200 yards, and was given the Expert Marksman medal. I was so impressed with the Carbine I own one now with a 30 round clip. James Stewart is one of my favorite movie stars and did a great job in this movie. Marsh Williams made a significant contributions to our war efforts and probably was responsible for helping to save thousands of American soldiers. He surely earned his forgiveness for the situation that put him in prison. This was a true American story and I am happy I got to see it again after 56 years.

I joined the Navy in 1951. I saw Carbine Williams before I joined in Tacoma, Wa. I saw it in San Diego ,Ca. before I left for Korea Then it was shown aboard the carrier Kearsarge while in the Sea of Japan.I cant remember where I saw it the next few times but I remember I saw it a total of eight times and enjoyed it more each time I saw it. I was especially happy when Marsh was pardoned for his crime.They didn't know for sure if he shot the government man ,but since he was considered the best shot in the group he was blamed and convicted. It was just a movie with a lot of heart.I would watch it again if I could find a copy. If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this movie I would be very happy.

This movie is a great movie for those who are into guns. Weather it be gun collecting, or just history. This movie portrays the actual real life story of how the winchester carbine was brought about. It is correct in it's history, and very interesting. Jimmy Stewart does an excellent job of portraying the feelings of a prisoner who may be wrongly convicted. It was never determined who actually killed the agent. This man made a rifle to help the American fighting man of the armed forces. Lighter, faster and more reliable than anything up to it's time. This was done inside a prison, with nothing but a file. When it was found out what he was doing, the warden of the prison eventually stands behind him and helps him in his efforts. If you are not interested in guns it is still a informative movie with a great human interest story!