Shoot Out

I always thought Gregory Peck was a competent if wooden actor. He was good where he had to be stiff (Captain Hornblower, for example) but otherwise not one of my favorites. But in this film he shines, not so much that he was so good as much of the rest of the cast was so bad. The little girl even acted circles around much of the adults who were either chewing the scenery or acting in a daze. I had a lot more respect of Peck as a professional after seeing this film. Other than Peck and sometimes the little brat, the film lacked a lot. I don't remember the chief villain in it very well - I saw this when it first came out - but I vaguely recall that he too stood out.

I have recently watched this movie. I didn't expect so much according to previous readings about the movie. Right on the contrary, it is one of the best westerns I have ever seen. Evil is shown in a raw way. The acting is great, outstanding the acting of Robert F. Lyons as psycho villain. The whole sequence at the house of the alcoholic mother with a son is full of suspense and thrill. The movie is unpredictable, giving surprises about what will happen next; it deceived me twice at least. I recommend to watch it to anyone who loves good western and good movies in general. It shows a great deal of cruelty and fair revenge. Yet it is not perfect. Some characters, like Pepe, are too stupid or naive, somewhat overacted; I think that some more realism could've been given to this role. The sequence among the horses in the meadow is a real good moment, with excellent photograph and movement.

Ten years after Gregory Peck played America's ideal father in To Kill a Mockingbird, he thought it would be funny to take a role in which he inherits a little girl and doesn't know how to handle her. Well, I'm not sure if that's why he made Shoot Out, but it's pretty adorable to watch him as he adjusts with his new parenthood. The scenes he shares with Dawn Lyn are the best parts of the movie. He even affectionately calls her "Scout" during one scene—too cute! Robert F. Lyons plays a despicable bad guy, and while I understand why he had to be written that way, whenever he was on the screen, I was actually physically uncomfortable until the scene changed. After a while, I stopped cringing, put my trust in Gregory Peck, the just-released convict who's out for revenge, and let the chips fall where they may. The bad guys won't really get him, will they? You'll have to watch it to find out, and if you like westerns, I recommend you do. The father-daughter scenes are really cute, and there's a bit of romantic tension with Patricia Quinn to spice things up for Greg, who's a little worn around the edges but still looks good in a cowboy hat. And while there's a very evil villain, his scenes do keep you on the edge of your seat. I wasn't expecting to like Shoot Out as much as I did, so give it a try and see if you like it, too!

Henry Hathaway, a man who knew how to shoot scenery, apparently forgot how to make a decent movie with 1971's Shoot Out. This quickie flick, destined for the NBC Saturday Night Movie about 10 minutes after its theatrical run, has Gregory Peck being peckish, about a minute of James Gregory being the baddie that double-crossed Peck, Robert F. Lyons as the psycho gunslinger hired by Gregory, and 7-year-old Dawn Lyn as the cutesy, foul-mouthed little 'un dumped on Peck when he gets released from prison for a robbery gone sideways. You also get the startle of seeing a hooker's slobber-covered * in the saloon's back room. And this thing got a GP? Hathaway's talent for lovely landscapes is lost on the viewer trying to translate the grammar-challenged westernese that spills out of everyone's mouth and with the grimacing from the scenery-chewing bad-guy behavior that would make anyone long for the quiet rationality of Richard Widmark's sociopath in Kiss of Death or the social responsibility of Andy Robinson in Dirty Harry. Just to show you how stolid Peck got toward the end of his big-star career, he gets the chance to have a heart-to-heart with a farm widow (a pretty, curvy actress named Patricia Quinn), and when she opens up to him about how lonely she is, how she drinks herself to sleep every night pining away for a man in bed, Peck doesn't kiss her or make goo-goo eyes at her, he grasps her head, and I thought, "My God, he's gonna check her teeth!" It's amazing how snarky one can get when watching a bastard stink- pot western.

I admit that it's not the best western ever made, by a long shot, but it's worth watching just for the fine performance of Robert F. Lyons. He should have won an Oscar nomination for "Pendulum", and his performance here is almost as good. He made a chilling bad guy in both films. Anyone ever notice that he wore the same shirt in this film that Roddy McDowall wore in "Five Card Stud" (which was made by Hathaway and Wallis)? Too bad they didn't have Lyons play the same role in that classic. McDowall did his best, but he couldn't match Lyons portraying a bad guy cowboy.....too British. Say what you will. I like this one.

Well, I finally got around to finish watching my DVD of Hathaways shoot-out. Ok, well another True Grit it ain't. In fact I've come to feel True Grit was something of a fluke after seeing this, how could the same talent (writer, director, producer) go from THAT to THIS? This could very well have been just another so-so episode of Gunsmoke of the early 70's. I don't care how much Greg Peck tries, that guy just CANNOT be intimidating. They should have had him muttering lines like "I'll fu*%ing kill you putrid fish-eatin' son of a Bi*%"! That would have at least been 'real' cussing not just an occasional "damnit". And they should have teamed him up with Jimmy Stewart--also trying to be psycho. Stewart: "yea--n-now you just do what my partner says, or I'll fu*&ing kill you!!" All in all I'd have to say I found Shoot Out rather amsuing though, that counts for something

This film barely held my interest, mainly because it was fun identifying the same locations where "True Grit" scenes were filmed. The most glaring was the spot where Gregory Peck and the girl camped before he got the drop on the three outlaws. That was the same place where John Wayne, et al. raided the shack where Moon and Quincy were waiting for Lucky Ned Pepper. It even looked like the same camera angle for the initial shot. Could have been cribbed from "True Grit", who knows? Other than playing "what happened on this spot in "True Grit", there wasn't much else to recommend this film. Gregory Peck looked like he was sleepwalking, and Dawn Lyn as the little girl was annoying, at best. The music was awful - it was like something out of a TV western, or even a crime show. One plus was the performance of John Davis Chandler (credited as John Chandler here), playing yet another whiny, heavy lidded heavy. He wasn't given much to do, unfortunately, since most of the bad guy attention went to Robert F. Lyons. Not worth a second look, IMHO.

I saw Shoot Out when it was first released and just watched it again a few days ago. It works best if you consider it as a sequel to "The Gunfighter" (1950), what would have happened to Peck's Johnny Ringo character had he survived and left his town rather than remain there with his wife and son. Although the negative comments that have been posted are generally accurate, the film has several elements that make it worth watching. Imagine combining 'To Kill a Mockingbird' with 'One-Eyed Jacks' and you will have a pretty good idea of what this story is all about. Unfortunately Gregory Peck did not put Aticus Finch energy into the Clay Lomax character, and even though Dawn Lyn (Dodie from 'My Three Sons') is fine as the little girl-the idea just doesn't work. There is at least one story too many in this movie and it would take a great script to pull it together. But as someone has already mentioned this is not a great script and there are 1970's dialogue issues that periodically jar the viewer back to reality, making it impossible for this thing to ever really get going. On the plus side Robert Lyons gives a nice 'really out there' performance as the wacko bad guy. Lyons was that era's Gary Oldham. Also the production designer did a good job on the overall feel of the film, there several absolutely great visuals (check out the shot of Dawn Lyn standing on the train station platform), and there is a very original non-formula climax. The production has excellent overall unity and someone really paid attention to continuity issues (watch how the progress of the water dripping on the cabin table is matched to the time sequence of the scene). What stayed with me through the years and motivated me to watch this again was the first film performance of Susan Tyrrell, as the dumb but plucky saloon girl. She actually deserved a supporting actress nomination. Then she played dumb and plucky again in 'Fat City' and actually received a Supporting Actress Nomination. At the time I was convinced that she would be the next big female star. There was a young actress talent vacuum in the 1969-78 period and hack blonds like Candice Bergen and Cybill Sheppard got a lot of work-with very painful to watch results. That many of their parts did not go to Tyrell and to Elizabeth Hartman is an example of the Hollywood anti-meritocracy. So check out her performances and curse Hollywood for not recognizing her potential and giving her a lot more work.

Director Henry Hathaway gets the most of his actors in this cowboy drama. After seven years in prison, ex-convict and aging gunfighter Clay Lomax(Gregory Peck)sets out on the trail with revenge on his mind. Lomax is in search of former partner turned adversary, Bobby Jay Jones(Robert F. Lyons). Bobby and his saddle pals seem to be out looking for fun...Lomax is looking for blood. Lomax may be a hardened man, but he shows his soft side when he becomes burdened with taking care of a cute young orphan girl named Decky(Dawn Lyn). Lyn seems to steal the movie with the banter between her and Peck. Another scene stealer is Susan Tyrell, who plays Alma the quirky ride-a-long with Bobby's gang. Others in the cast: Patricia Quinn, James Gregory, Rita Gam and John Davis Chandler. Not among the best westerns, but very worth while.

Shoot Out (1971) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Western from the same producer, screenwriter and director of True Grit has Gregory Peck being released from prison after seven years and heading off to kill the man who shot him in the back during a bank robbery. Before he can carry out his plan he has an unexpected gift of a six year old girl who starts to have an effect on the old cowboy. This isn't really a good film but it's a slight entertainment that features some good action and a fine performance from Peck. I wouldn't say this was an A+ Peck performance but he manages to keep the film moving even though the supporting cast doesn't offer him much. The little girl at times can be annoying but that happens sometimes. I think the biggest problem for the film is that we've seen this story countless times before and this one here doesn't offer anything new and even in the end the film goes off on different story lines than what he set out to be.