The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Patience is part of the point.”
Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.
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Man with the Gun
Western · 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.
Movie details
Man with the Gun
“A man who lived and breathed violence!”
1955 Western 1h 23m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.7 / 10
2.4K votes
TMDB
6.2 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
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.
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 Man with the Gun?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their objectionThe 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.
Silver Lode
Western · 1954
Dan Ballard, a respected citizen in the western town of Silver Lode, has his wedding interrupted by four men led by Ned McCarty, an old acquaintance who, as a US Marshal, arrests Ballard for the murder of his brother and the theft of $20,000. Ballard seeks to stall McCarty while tracking down evidence that will prove his innocence.
Firecreek
Western · 1968
A peace-loving, part-time sheriff in the small town of Firecreek must take a stand when a gang of vicious outlaws takes over his town.
Death of a Gunfighter
Western · 1969
In the turn-of-the century Texas town of Cottonwood 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.
Decision at Sundown
Western · 1957
A man and his partner arrive at a small Western town to kill its most powerful man because the former blames him for his wife's death.
Warlock
Western · 1959
A band of murderous cowboys has imposed a reign of terror on the town of Warlock. With the sheriff humiliatingly run out of town, the residents hire the services of Clay Blaisedell as de facto town marshal. He arrives along with his friend, Tom Morgan, and sets about restoring law and order on his own terms whilst also overseeing the establishment of a gambling house and saloon.
The Tin Star
Western · 1957
An experienced bounty hunter helps a young sheriff learn the meaning of his badge.
Open Range
Western · 2003
A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
The Gunfighter
Western · 1950
The fastest gun in the West tries to escape his reputation.
Rancho Notorious
Drama · 1952
A man in search of revenge infiltrates a ranch, hidden in an inhospitable region, where its owner, Altar Keane, gives shelter to outlaws fleeing from the law in exchange for a price.
Support Your Local Sheriff!
Comedy · 1969
In the old west, a man becomes a Sheriff just for the pay, figuring he can decamp if things get tough.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Richard Wilson
Written by
Richard Wilson · N.B. Stone Jr.
Robert Mitchum
Clint Tollinger
Jan Sterling
Nelly Bain
Karen Sharpe
Stella Atkins
Henry Hull
Marshal Lee Sims
Emile Meyer
Saul Atkins
John Lupton
Jeff Castle
Barbara Lawrence
Ann Wakefield
Court is in session
Put Man with the Gun on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker
“A test of endurance, your honour.”
Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.