Invitation to a Gunfighter

source: Invitation to a Gunfighter

Invitation to a Gunfighter

Brynner's trademark feline grace and air of disdainful superiority are used to full advantage in this tale of a small town hiring a gunfighter to deal with a hometown boy gone bad. The performances of the other actors and solid direction provide a sharp portrait of a dusty, narrowminded, small-town society. They've created one monster of their own, and invited another monster in to deal with him--now, how do they deal with the new menace? Particularly memorable is the scene in which D'estaing gives instruction in the proper pronunciation of his name.

Found this to be a pleasant surprise. Talky but interesting psychological western, much more intelligent than typical gunfighter fare. Also, I would venture to say that "High Plains Drifter" might have taken a bit of inspiration from this film, which predates it by many years. Light on the action but the characters are more than one dimensional stereotypes and all good performances. Totally misrepresented by the one line summary, "Town hires a gunslinger to kill an outcast then hires the outcast to kill the gunslinger," as 95% of the movie is about the first half of that sentence. Check it out!

This 1964 Western is set in a New Mexican town during 1865, and it's about a Civil War veteran (played by George Segal) that returns home only to find his ranch sold and his girlfriend married to another man. Plus, the town folks decide to hire a gunfighter to kill the Confederate, a creole from Louisiana (played by Yul Brynner). Even if clichèd and talky, this Western is surprisingly good: it was filmed in location, the direction by Richard Wilson is top-notch and the performances are worth-seeing, especially the ones from Segal and Brynner, as they play the ancient game of cat-and-mouse, with (as you can guess) Segal winning. In the cast also Janice Rule and Clifton James. Plus, this Western gives also a moral lesson about racism and judging others on appearence only.

A very underrated western! Superb performances from Yul Brynner and Janice Rule. Arguably their best. Director Richard Wilson had worked with Orson Welles on his theater projects and that influence is evident in the adapted screenplay he wrote with his wife. The film questions the moral superiority of the Unionists over the Confederates. It asks, more importantly, if racism in USA is merely related to a white versus black confrontation or to white versus all non-whites (Mexicans, mulattos, cajuns, Native Indians, etc.). More than the action, the film is lifted by the spoken word (e.g., how an average American thinks Jules and Jewel are the same!) and misplaced morality. Needs to be more widely seen and appreciated.

I have always like westerns and would consider this one a must-see. It's quite dated in places with many of it's attitudes rooted in the 1950s and some really laughable dialog. But it's moral stance and it comments on society's treatment of it's poor, it's minorities, it's women, hits you like a slap to the face. It's always a pleasure to watch Yul Brenner at work and he really carries this movie. George Segal is okay as his presumed antagonist but the real bad guy(s) in this movie are not so easily identified. I was stunned to see how much of the plot of this movie influenced one of my favorite Westerns of all time - High Plains Drifter. The resemblance is uncanny - of course HPD does it better but still I have to recommend this to anyone who likes Westerns.