Death of a Gunfighter

May 8, 1969

1h 34m

★ 6.4

Marshall Patch... he lived by the law of the gun...

Overview

In the turn-of-the century Texas town of Cottownwood Springs, marshal Frank Patch is an old-style lawman in a town determined to become modern. When he kills drunken Luke Mills in self-defense, the town leaders decide it's time for a change. That ask for Patch's resignation, but he refuses on the basis that the town on hiring him had promised him the job for as long as he wanted it. Afraid for the town's future and even more afraid of the fact that Marshal Patch knows all the town's dark secrets, the city fathers decide that old-style violence is the only way to rid themselves of the unwanted lawman.

Genres

Western

Production Companies

Universal Pictures

Death of a Gunfighter Trailers

Cast

Marshal Frank Patch

Richard Widmark

Claire Quintana

Lena Horne

Lester Locke

Carroll O'Connor

Edward Rosenbloom

David Opatoshu

Andrew Oxley

Kent Smith

Laurie Mills

Jacqueline Scott

Ivan Stanek

Morgan Woodward

Mayor Chester Sayre

Larry Gates

Doc Adams

Dub Taylor

Lou Trinidad

John Saxon

Hilda Jorgenson

Darleen Carr

Dan Joslin

Michael McGreevey

Wild Bill Hickock (William Elliott), aka The Peaceable Man, meters out justice in the tough town of Deadwood in this highly fictional western from Columbia. Unlike the historic character, Elliott's gunfighter survives his encounter with the South Dakota hellhole, where he arrives to aid beleaguered livery stable owner Clint Wilson (Richard Fiske) and his sister, Madge (Dorothy Fay), in their battle against self-appointed town czar "Flash" Kirby (Arthur Loft). But before he gets that far, there is a little matter of proving Kirby guilty of wrongdoing and to achieve that, Wild Bill earns the enmity of both the Wilsons.

4.5

Gun Law

May 13, 1938

Finding a man alone in the desert, Marshal Tom is relieved - of his horse, clothes and water. When he catches up to Raven, he finds him dying from drinking bad water. When he gets to Gunsight, everyone thinks that he is the outlaw Raven and he plays it out so that he can end lawlessness.

7.1

Last Train from Gun Hill

Jul 29, 1959

A marshal tries to bring the son of an old friend, an autocratic cattle baron, to justice for the rape and murder of his wife.

0.0

Shootout at Big Sag

May 31, 1962

A man has his eyes set on controlling the Big Sag territory in Montana and hopes to achieve his goal by forcing a newly-arrived family from Texas from their land. Hoping to convince the local saloonkeeper to help him, the man sends his daughter into town with instructions for his potential partner. A storm waylays the daughter during her trip to town and she is forced to stay at the home of her father's intended victims, leading to an interesting turn or two.

6.7

3 Godfathers

Dec 31, 1948

Three outlaws on the run discover a dying woman and her baby. They swear to bring the infant to safety across the desert, even at the risk of their own lives.

6.3

Ride a Crooked Trail

Nov 23, 1958

After robbing a bank Murphy assumes the identity of his pursuer, a famous US Marshal, when he stumbles into a town and is confronted by the local judge, Matthau. Murphy is forced to remain as the new Marshal; an old flame, Scala, nearly unmasks him by accident, only to be forced to assume the ruse of being Murphy's wife. The "couple" given a house and respectability, which neither has had before. They maintain the charade to avoid hurting a young orphan boy, Matthau's ward. Scala is torn by her loyalty to boyfriend planning to rob the bank and growing feelings for Murphy

5.9

Young Billy Young

Oct 15, 1969

A peace-loving man named Ben Kane takes a job as deputy marshal of Lords, in the old West. Kane is no lawman, but he accepts the badge because he has an old score to settle with the town's chief trouble-maker. Once on the job, Kane must also deal with a young sharpshooter named Billy Young and a sharp and sassy saloon dancer, Lily.

6.2

Man with the Gun

Nov 5, 1955

A stranger comes to town looking for his estranged wife. He finds her running the local girls. He also finds a town and sheriff afraid of their own shadow, scared of a landowner they never see who rules through his rowdy sidekicks. The stranger is a town tamer by trade, and he accepts a $500 commission to sort things out.

5.0

Red River Shore

Dec 15, 1953

When an oil discovery is reported at Paxton, Oklahoma, Marshal Rex Allen immediately suspects that where there is oil, there is trouble. Rex arrives just as a band of desperadoes stage a bank hold-up and escape with $25,000 which ranchers have invested in prospective oil drillings.

0.0

Raiders of the Border

Jan 31, 1944

Johnny Mack Brown and Raymond Hatton return to the screen as saddle pals Nevada and Sandy in Monogram's Pals of the Border. In this one, our heroes are US marshals, hot on the trail of cattle rustlers.

5.0

Law Men

Apr 25, 1944

U.S. Marshals "Nevada" Jack McKenzie and "Sandy" Hopkins go undercover to bust a gang of stagecoach robbers in this vintage Western serial. Nevada infiltrates the gang, while Sandy works as a cobbler in town, keeping an ear open for local gossip as they try to flush out the inside man tipping off the crooks.

6.6

Mackenna's Gold

Mar 18, 1969

A bandit kidnaps a Marshal who has seen a map showing a gold vein on Indian lands, but other groups are looking for it too, while the Apache try to keep the secret location undisturbed.

4.8

Renegade

Feb 9, 2004

U.S Marshal Mike Donovan has dark memories of the death of his first love. He keeps peace between the Americans and the natives who had temporarily adopted and taken care of him. The evil actions of a white sorcerer lead him to confront the villain in the Sacred Mountains, and, through shamanic rituals conquer his fears and uncover a suppressed memory he would much rather deny.

0.0

Prairie Pals

Sep 4, 1942

Two deputies go undercover to save a scientist from his evil kidnappers.

6.8

Heaven's Gate

Nov 19, 1980

Harvard graduate James Averill serves as the sheriff of prosperous Jackson County, Wyo., standing at the center of a conflict between impoverished immigrants and affluent cattle farmers. Politically connected ranchers enlist mercenary Nathan Champion—who is also vying for the affections of local madam Ella Watson—to combat the immigrant uprising. As tensions escalate, both Averill and Champion start to question their decisions.

7.3

The Gunfighter

May 26, 1950

The fastest gun in the West tries to escape his reputation.

6.9

Hang 'em High

Apr 12, 1968

Marshall Jed Cooper survives a hanging, vowing revenge on the lynch mob that left him dangling. To carry out his oath for vengeance, he returns to his former job as a lawman. Before long, he's caught up with the nine men on his hit list and starts dispensing his own brand of Wild West justice.

5.7

The Night of the Grizzly

Apr 20, 1966

Marshall "Big Jim" Cole turns in his badge and heads to Wyoming with his family in order to settle on some land left him by a relative. He faces opposition both from a neighbor who wants that land for his own sons, and from a grizzly bear nicknamed "Satan" who keeps killing Cole's livestock.