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Forty Guns

Forty Guns

Western · Drama · 1957

An authoritarian rancher rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns. When a new Marshal arrives to set things straight, the cattle queen finds herself falling for the avowedly non-violent lawman. Both have itchy-fingered brothers, a female gunman enters the picture, and things go desperately wrong.

Movie details

Forty Guns

“The Taming of the Arizona Territory!”

1957 Western · Drama 1h 20m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

An authoritarian rancher rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns. When a new Marshal arrives to set things straight, the cattle queen finds herself falling for the avowedly non-violent lawman. Both have itchy-fingered brothers, a female gunman enters the picture, and things go desperately wrong.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Forty Guns?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Shane

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Giant

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Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

Rio Bravo

Rio Bravo

Western · 1959

A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.

Cry Macho

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3:10 to Yuma

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Samuel Fuller

Written by

Samuel Fuller

Barbara Stanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck

Jessica Drummond

Barry Sullivan

Barry Sullivan

Griff Bonell

Dean Jagger

Dean Jagger

Sheriff Ned Logan

John Ericson

John Ericson

Brockie Drummond

Gene Barry

Gene Barry

Wes Bonell

Robert Dix

Robert Dix

Chico Bonell

Jidge Carroll

Jidge Carroll

Barney Cashman

Court is in session

Put Forty Guns on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.