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Winchester '73 (1950 film)
Encyclopedia
Winchester '73 is an American Western
film starring James Stewart
and Shelley Winters
, and released by Universal Pictures
in 1950. This is the first of eight collaborations between Stewart and director Anthony Mann
. The movie features early roles for Rock Hudson
(portraying an American Indian), Tony Curtis
, and James Best
, and also stars Dan Duryea
and Stephen McNally
. The supporting cast includes John McIntire
, Will Geer
as Wyatt Earp
, and Jay C. Flippen
.
In 1876, Lin McAdam (James Stewart
) and friend 'High-Spade' Frankie Wilson (Millard Mitchell
) pursue outlaw 'Dutch Henry' Brown (Stephen McNally
) into Dodge City
, Kansas. They arrive just in time to see a man forcing a saloon-hall girl named Lola (Shelley Winters
) onto the stage leaving town. Once the man reveals himself to be Sheriff Wyatt Earp
(Will Geer
) Lin backs down. Earp informs the two men that firearms are not allowed in town and they must check them in with Earp's brother Virgil. Lin and Dutch Henry see each other in the saloon, but are unable to fight due to the presence of Earp. Lin enters a shooting competition, contending against Dutch Henry among others, that is held on the Fourth of July. They end up the two finalists for a prized one-of-one-thousand perfect Winchester rifle
. Lin wins by betting that he can shoot through a stamp placed over the hole of round piece from an Indian necklace and then doing it. Dutch Henry claims that he is leaving town, but then goes to Lin's boarding house room and jumps Lin when he enters and steals the prize. He and his two cohorts leave town with Lin and High-Spade in hot pursuit.
Dutch Henry and his two men ride to Riker's Bar. Because they left town in a hurry, they left their guns behind which puts them in a very bad position considering the problems with Indians in the area. Once Indian trader Joe Lamont (John McIntire
) gets a look at the rifle, he raises the price of his guns high enough that Dutch and his men can not afford to buy any. Dutch's only option is to trade the rifle for three hundred dollars in gold and their choice of weapons from the pile that Lamont is going to sell to the Indians. Lamont feigns inexperience at cards and Dutch attempts to win back the rifle. Instead, he ends up losing the three hundred in gold to Lamont. Lamont takes his guns to meet his Indian buyers, but their leader Young Bull (Rock Hudson
) doesn't like the old, worn-out merchandise Lamont is offering; he wants the guns that Crazy Horse used at Little Big Horn. Lamont made the mistake of leaving his rifle very visible and Hudson's character wants it. When Lamont refuses to sell, he is robbed and scalped.
Lola Manners (Shelley Winters
) and her fiance Steve Miller (Charles Drake
) are in a wagon heading to where their new home will be. The left rear wheel of the wagon is squeaking loudly because Steve forgot to grease it back in town. When they are pursued by Indians, the wheel becomes a factor because the wagon is slowed down. In a moment of panic, which Lola never forgives him for, he gets off the wagon and gets on his horse that is tied to the back. He rides away and leaves Lola, but returns when he sees a small encampment of soldiers up ahead. He rides alongside while Lola drives the wagon and they reach safety with the Army.
That night, after being chased by the Indians, Lin and High-Spade meet up with those same soldiers which has been pinned down by those Indians. The soldiers are young and inexperienced and their crusty old sergeant (Jay C. Flippen) is inexperienced in fighting Indians. Lin gives him some tactical advice on how to fight the Indians. They prepare themselves for an early attack the next day and Lin gives Lola his six-gun to fight with. The unspoken message he gives her, which she fully understands, is that she is to use the gun on herself to avoid capture.
After a fierce morning battle, the Indian leader is killed. Lin and 'High-Spade' return to their search for Dutch Henry and they ride right past the rifle lying on the ground by the dead Indian's body. It is found by Doan (Tony Curtis
) and the sergeant gives it to Steve (to avoid having an officer take it away from Doan).
Steve and Lola reach the Jameson house where Lola will stay with Mrs. Jameson and her two small children while Steve goes to meet 'Waco' Johnnie Dean, much to the disapproval of Lola. Steve ends up not having to go because Waco (Dan Duryea
) and his men show up at the Jameson house unexpectedly. They are on the run from a posse and once Waco sees the rifle, he covets it. He keeps insulting Miller in front of Lola in an attempt to provoke Steve into a gunfight. Finally Steve draws on Waco, though he knows he is no match for the professional. Waco kills him and takes possession of the rifle. Once Waco and Lola escape the posse and go to Dutch's hideout, Dutch Henry takes back "his" rifle.
There, Dutch Henry plans an armed robbery. Waco is stationed in a saloon to provide cover for the gang's escape after the robbery, but is betrayed to Lin by Lola. Lin forces Waco to tell him where Dutch is and when Waco gets a chance to shoot Lin, Lin kills him in the street. The robbery goes awry and Lin chases Dutch Henry out of town and confronts him on a rocky hill. Lin refers to Dutch by his real name, Matthew. They shoot it out on the hill with rifles before Lin finally shoots Matthew/Dutch Henry off the hill. High-Spade reveals to Lola that Dutch Henry is Lin's no-good brother. Matthew robbed a bank and ran home to hide out. When their father wouldn't help him, Matthew shot him in the back. Lin comes riding back into town with his rifle and it's obvious that he and Lola will be together.
James Best is the last surviving cast member.
in June is just becoming known across the west.
A few days after Dutch Henry steals the prized rifle from Lin, he plays cards against the Indian trader, Joe Lamont, at Riker's Bar. Dutch Henry lays down a full house, aces over eights, stating that he just missed the "dead man's hand
" — two pair, aces and eights, so nicknamed because Wild Bill Hickok
was said to hold such a hand when he was murdered in Deadwood
on August 2, 1876, almost a month later.
As part of the publicity campaign around the release of the film, Universal Pictures sponsored a contest, by placing magazine ads, to find some of the rare remaining "One of One Thousand" Model 1873 Winchester rifles. This attention did indeed bring many previously-unknown original rifles into the spotlight and drew public interest to the field of antique gun collecting. The winner of the contest received a new Winchester Model 1894 rifle, since the Model 1873 was out of production at that time.
The film was originally intended to have been directed by Fritz Lang
but Universal did not want Lang to produce the film through his own Diana Productions company. Lang's idea was to have the rifle being Stewart's character's only source of strength and his only excuse for living, making the quest for his rifle a matter of life and death. With Lang out of the picture, Universal produced the film itself with the up-and-coming Anthony Mann, who was James Stewart's choice, directing. Mann changed the idea of the film through having Borden Chase
rewrite the film to make the rifle a character, showing its adventures passing though the hands of a variety of people.
Stewart had wished to make Harvey
for Universal-International but, when the studio wouldn't pay the $200,000 salary Stewart wanted, studio head William Goetz
made an offer that Stewart could make both Harvey and Winchester '73 for a percentage of the profits that would be spread out over a period of time and qualify for a lower tax rate because Stewart would be taxed as a company rather than as an individual. Stewart's then agent Lew Wasserman
was able to get his client 50% of the profits, eventually amounting to $600,000 from the film's unexpected success. The money from a percentage deal was taxed as a capital gain
attracting a much lower rate of tax than a normal salary would incur. Stewart's deal also gave him control of director and co-stars.
The Stewart and Mann collaboration established a new persona
for Stewart; one more violent and disillusioned, but still likeable.
starred in five Westerns by director Anthony Mann. In all five, he plays a man who is haunted by the past. The films make notable use of the landscape to portray the characters' feelings.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film starring James Stewart
James Stewart
James Stewart was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart may also refer to:-Noblemen:*James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland*James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn James Stewart (1908–1997) was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart...
and Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
, and released by Universal Pictures
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
in 1950. This is the first of eight collaborations between Stewart and director Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann was an American actor and film director, most notably of film noirs and Westerns. As a director, he often collaborated with the cinematographer John Alton and with James Stewart in his Westerns.-Biography:...
. The movie features early roles for Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
(portraying an American Indian), Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
, and James Best
James Best
James Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
, and also stars Dan Duryea
Dan Duryea
Dan Duryea was an American actor, known for roles in film, stage and television.-Early life:Born and raised in White Plains, New York, Duryea graduated from White Plains Senior High School in 1924 and Cornell University in 1928. While at Cornell, Duryea was elected into the Sphinx Head Society...
and Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many westerns and action films. He was an attorney in the late 1930s before pursuing a career in acting.-Career:...
. The supporting cast includes John McIntire
John McIntire
John McIntire was an American character actor.-Career:The craggy-faced film actor was born in Spokane in eastern Washington State but reared in Montana, growing up around ranchers and cowboys, an experience that would later inspire his performances in dozens of westerns.A graduate of USC, McIntire...
, Will Geer
Will Geer
Will Geer was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons....
as Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
, and Jay C. Flippen
Jay C. Flippen
Jay C. Flippen is an American character actor who often played police officers or weary criminals in many films of the 1940s/'50s....
.
Plot
James Stewart
James Stewart was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart may also refer to:-Noblemen:*James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland*James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn James Stewart (1908–1997) was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart...
) and friend 'High-Spade' Frankie Wilson (Millard Mitchell
Millard Mitchell
Millard Mitchell was an American character actor whose credits include roughly thirty feature films and two television appearances....
) pursue outlaw 'Dutch Henry' Brown (Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many westerns and action films. He was an attorney in the late 1930s before pursuing a career in acting.-Career:...
) into Dodge City
Dodge City, Kansas
Dodge City is a city in, and the county seat of, Ford County, Kansas, United States. Named after nearby Fort Dodge, the city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,340.-History:The first settlement of...
, Kansas. They arrive just in time to see a man forcing a saloon-hall girl named Lola (Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
) onto the stage leaving town. Once the man reveals himself to be Sheriff Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
(Will Geer
Will Geer
Will Geer was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons....
) Lin backs down. Earp informs the two men that firearms are not allowed in town and they must check them in with Earp's brother Virgil. Lin and Dutch Henry see each other in the saloon, but are unable to fight due to the presence of Earp. Lin enters a shooting competition, contending against Dutch Henry among others, that is held on the Fourth of July. They end up the two finalists for a prized one-of-one-thousand perfect Winchester rifle
Winchester rifle
In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
. Lin wins by betting that he can shoot through a stamp placed over the hole of round piece from an Indian necklace and then doing it. Dutch Henry claims that he is leaving town, but then goes to Lin's boarding house room and jumps Lin when he enters and steals the prize. He and his two cohorts leave town with Lin and High-Spade in hot pursuit.
Dutch Henry and his two men ride to Riker's Bar. Because they left town in a hurry, they left their guns behind which puts them in a very bad position considering the problems with Indians in the area. Once Indian trader Joe Lamont (John McIntire
John McIntire
John McIntire was an American character actor.-Career:The craggy-faced film actor was born in Spokane in eastern Washington State but reared in Montana, growing up around ranchers and cowboys, an experience that would later inspire his performances in dozens of westerns.A graduate of USC, McIntire...
) gets a look at the rifle, he raises the price of his guns high enough that Dutch and his men can not afford to buy any. Dutch's only option is to trade the rifle for three hundred dollars in gold and their choice of weapons from the pile that Lamont is going to sell to the Indians. Lamont feigns inexperience at cards and Dutch attempts to win back the rifle. Instead, he ends up losing the three hundred in gold to Lamont. Lamont takes his guns to meet his Indian buyers, but their leader Young Bull (Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
) doesn't like the old, worn-out merchandise Lamont is offering; he wants the guns that Crazy Horse used at Little Big Horn. Lamont made the mistake of leaving his rifle very visible and Hudson's character wants it. When Lamont refuses to sell, he is robbed and scalped.
Lola Manners (Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
) and her fiance Steve Miller (Charles Drake
Charles Drake
Charles Drake was an American actor.-Biography:Drake was born as Charles Ruppert in New York City. He graduated from Nichols College and became a salesman. In 1939, he turned to acting and signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He wasn't immediately successful...
) are in a wagon heading to where their new home will be. The left rear wheel of the wagon is squeaking loudly because Steve forgot to grease it back in town. When they are pursued by Indians, the wheel becomes a factor because the wagon is slowed down. In a moment of panic, which Lola never forgives him for, he gets off the wagon and gets on his horse that is tied to the back. He rides away and leaves Lola, but returns when he sees a small encampment of soldiers up ahead. He rides alongside while Lola drives the wagon and they reach safety with the Army.
That night, after being chased by the Indians, Lin and High-Spade meet up with those same soldiers which has been pinned down by those Indians. The soldiers are young and inexperienced and their crusty old sergeant (Jay C. Flippen) is inexperienced in fighting Indians. Lin gives him some tactical advice on how to fight the Indians. They prepare themselves for an early attack the next day and Lin gives Lola his six-gun to fight with. The unspoken message he gives her, which she fully understands, is that she is to use the gun on herself to avoid capture.
After a fierce morning battle, the Indian leader is killed. Lin and 'High-Spade' return to their search for Dutch Henry and they ride right past the rifle lying on the ground by the dead Indian's body. It is found by Doan (Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
) and the sergeant gives it to Steve (to avoid having an officer take it away from Doan).
Steve and Lola reach the Jameson house where Lola will stay with Mrs. Jameson and her two small children while Steve goes to meet 'Waco' Johnnie Dean, much to the disapproval of Lola. Steve ends up not having to go because Waco (Dan Duryea
Dan Duryea
Dan Duryea was an American actor, known for roles in film, stage and television.-Early life:Born and raised in White Plains, New York, Duryea graduated from White Plains Senior High School in 1924 and Cornell University in 1928. While at Cornell, Duryea was elected into the Sphinx Head Society...
) and his men show up at the Jameson house unexpectedly. They are on the run from a posse and once Waco sees the rifle, he covets it. He keeps insulting Miller in front of Lola in an attempt to provoke Steve into a gunfight. Finally Steve draws on Waco, though he knows he is no match for the professional. Waco kills him and takes possession of the rifle. Once Waco and Lola escape the posse and go to Dutch's hideout, Dutch Henry takes back "his" rifle.
There, Dutch Henry plans an armed robbery. Waco is stationed in a saloon to provide cover for the gang's escape after the robbery, but is betrayed to Lin by Lola. Lin forces Waco to tell him where Dutch is and when Waco gets a chance to shoot Lin, Lin kills him in the street. The robbery goes awry and Lin chases Dutch Henry out of town and confronts him on a rocky hill. Lin refers to Dutch by his real name, Matthew. They shoot it out on the hill with rifles before Lin finally shoots Matthew/Dutch Henry off the hill. High-Spade reveals to Lola that Dutch Henry is Lin's no-good brother. Matthew robbed a bank and ran home to hide out. When their father wouldn't help him, Matthew shot him in the back. Lin comes riding back into town with his rifle and it's obvious that he and Lola will be together.
Cast
- James StewartJames StewartJames Stewart was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart may also refer to:-Noblemen:*James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland*James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn James Stewart (1908–1997) was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart...
as Lin McAdam - Shelley WintersShelley WintersShelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
as Lola Manners - Dan DuryeaDan DuryeaDan Duryea was an American actor, known for roles in film, stage and television.-Early life:Born and raised in White Plains, New York, Duryea graduated from White Plains Senior High School in 1924 and Cornell University in 1928. While at Cornell, Duryea was elected into the Sphinx Head Society...
as Waco Johnnie Dean - Stephen McNallyStephen McNallyStephen McNally was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many westerns and action films. He was an attorney in the late 1930s before pursuing a career in acting.-Career:...
as Dutch Henry Brown - Millard MitchellMillard MitchellMillard Mitchell was an American character actor whose credits include roughly thirty feature films and two television appearances....
as High-Spade Frankie Wilson - Charles DrakeCharles DrakeCharles Drake was an American actor.-Biography:Drake was born as Charles Ruppert in New York City. He graduated from Nichols College and became a salesman. In 1939, he turned to acting and signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He wasn't immediately successful...
as Steve Miller - John McIntireJohn McIntireJohn McIntire was an American character actor.-Career:The craggy-faced film actor was born in Spokane in eastern Washington State but reared in Montana, growing up around ranchers and cowboys, an experience that would later inspire his performances in dozens of westerns.A graduate of USC, McIntire...
as Joe Lamont - Will GeerWill GeerWill Geer was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons....
as Wyatt Earp - Jay C. FlippenJay C. FlippenJay C. Flippen is an American character actor who often played police officers or weary criminals in many films of the 1940s/'50s....
as Sgt. Wilkes - Rock HudsonRock HudsonRoy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
as Young Bull - Tony CurtisTony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
as Doan (credited as "Anthony Curtis") - James BestJames BestJames Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
as Crater
James Best is the last surviving cast member.
Background
The shooting competition takes place on July 4, 1876 as the news of Custer's Last StandBattle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
in June is just becoming known across the west.
A few days after Dutch Henry steals the prized rifle from Lin, he plays cards against the Indian trader, Joe Lamont, at Riker's Bar. Dutch Henry lays down a full house, aces over eights, stating that he just missed the "dead man's hand
Dead man's hand
The dead man's hand is a two-pair poker hand, namely "aces and eights". This card combination gets its name from a legend that it was the five-card-draw hand held by Wild Bill Hickok, when he was murdered on August 2, 1876, in Saloon No. 10 at Deadwood, South Dakota.According to the popular...
" — two pair, aces and eights, so nicknamed because Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
was said to hold such a hand when he was murdered in Deadwood
Deadwood, South Dakota
Deadwood is a city in South Dakota, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is named for the dead trees found in its gulch. The population was 1,270 according to a 2010 census...
on August 2, 1876, almost a month later.
As part of the publicity campaign around the release of the film, Universal Pictures sponsored a contest, by placing magazine ads, to find some of the rare remaining "One of One Thousand" Model 1873 Winchester rifles. This attention did indeed bring many previously-unknown original rifles into the spotlight and drew public interest to the field of antique gun collecting. The winner of the contest received a new Winchester Model 1894 rifle, since the Model 1873 was out of production at that time.
Production
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
but Universal did not want Lang to produce the film through his own Diana Productions company. Lang's idea was to have the rifle being Stewart's character's only source of strength and his only excuse for living, making the quest for his rifle a matter of life and death. With Lang out of the picture, Universal produced the film itself with the up-and-coming Anthony Mann, who was James Stewart's choice, directing. Mann changed the idea of the film through having Borden Chase
Borden Chase
Borden Chase was an American writer.Born Frank Fowler, he went through an assortment of jobs, including driving for gangster Frankie Yale and working as a sandhog on the construction of New York's Holland Tunnel, before turning to writing, first short stories and novels, and later, screenplays...
rewrite the film to make the rifle a character, showing its adventures passing though the hands of a variety of people.
Stewart had wished to make Harvey
Harvey (film)
Harvey is a 1950 film based on Mary Chase's play of the same name, directed by Henry Koster, and starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull. The story is about a man whose best friend is a pooka named Harvey—in the form of a six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch tall invisible rabbit.-Plot:Elwood P...
for Universal-International but, when the studio wouldn't pay the $200,000 salary Stewart wanted, studio head William Goetz
William Goetz
William Goetz was an American Hollywood film producer and studio executive. William Goetz died of cancer in 1969 at his home in Los Angeles and was buried in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California....
made an offer that Stewart could make both Harvey and Winchester '73 for a percentage of the profits that would be spread out over a period of time and qualify for a lower tax rate because Stewart would be taxed as a company rather than as an individual. Stewart's then agent Lew Wasserman
Lew Wasserman
Lewis Robert "Lew" Wasserman was an American talent agent and studio executive, sometimes credited with creating and later taking apart the studio system in a career spanning more than six decades...
was able to get his client 50% of the profits, eventually amounting to $600,000 from the film's unexpected success. The money from a percentage deal was taxed as a capital gain
Capital gain
A capital gain is a profit that results from investments into a capital asset, such as stocks, bonds or real estate, which exceeds the purchase price. It is the difference between a higher selling price and a lower purchase price, resulting in a financial gain for the investor...
attracting a much lower rate of tax than a normal salary would incur. Stewart's deal also gave him control of director and co-stars.
The Stewart and Mann collaboration established a new persona
Persona
A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...
for Stewart; one more violent and disillusioned, but still likeable.
James Stewart and Anthony Mann
James StewartJames Stewart
James Stewart was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart may also refer to:-Noblemen:*James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland*James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn James Stewart (1908–1997) was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart...
starred in five Westerns by director Anthony Mann. In all five, he plays a man who is haunted by the past. The films make notable use of the landscape to portray the characters' feelings.
- Winchester '73 (1950)
- Bend of the RiverBend of the RiverBend of the River is a 1952 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their second collaboration. The film is based on the novel Bend of the Snake by Bill Gulick.-Plot:...
(1952) - The Naked SpurThe Naked SpurThe Naked Spur is a 1953 American western movie directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their third collaboration. The screenplay was written by Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay - a rare honor for a Western. The...
(1953) - The Man from LaramieThe Man from LaramieThe Man from Laramie is an American Technicolor Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in the fifth and final of their Western collaborations, and their seventh collaboration overall. It was adapted from a story of the same title by Thomas T...
(1955) - The Far CountryThe Far CountryThe Far Country is a 1954 American western movie directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their fourth western collaboration...
(1955)
External links
- Winchester '73 film stills
- Winchester '73 images of rifle