Back home

Wichita

55 votes

Producing House

Former buffalo hunter and entrepreneur Wyatt Earp arrives in the lawless cattle town of Wichita Kansas. His skill as a gun-fighter makes him a perfect candidate for Marshal, but he refuses the job until he feels morally obligated to bring law and order to this wild town.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1955-07-03

Runtime: 81 mins

Director: Jacques Tourneur

Spoken language: English

Genres: Western

Original title: Wichita

Production Companies: Allied Artists Pictures

Production Countries: United States of America

Reviews

J

John Chard
The Kansas Law Dog! Wichita is directed by Jacques Tourneur and written by Daniel B. Ullman. It stars Joel McCrea, Vera Miles, Wallace Ford, Edgar Buchannan, Lloyd Bridges and Keith Larsen. It's filmed in Cinemascope/Technicolor with cinematography by Harold Lipstein and music by Hans J. Salter. Wichita is an origin story, that of one Wyatt Earp (McCrea), the story is set before he gets to Dodge City, where apparently some famous gunfight occurred. From a narrative stand point it's a town tamer story, Earp arrives in a newly thriving Wichita, at this point he's a hunter of buffalo only. But as the cowboys converge on the town, and things turn very dark, Earp - a bastion of good and just righteousness - finds it impossible to continue in turning down the town superior's offers of becoming the town Marshal. It's one of those Western movies that made Western movie fans become Western movie fans. A film you would have watched as a youngster and just bought totally into the good guy against the baddies central core. Of course as youngsters we wouldn't have cared a jot about thematics such as capitalism ruling over common sense, or metaphysical leanings ticking away, all while a genius director is composing shots and frames of great distinction. Hell! Even the intelligence and maturity in the writing would have escaped us, the dark passages merely incidents of no great concern... Wichita is damn fine film making. OK! It isn't wall to wall action. Sure there is a good round of knuckles, a bit of trench warfare and the standard shoot-outs, but these are just conduits to smart and compelling human drama, richly performed by McCrea (brilliantly cast) and company. Tourneur, Ullman and Lipstein make sure there is no waste on the page or via location framing, the costuming authentic and pleasing, and of course the story itself, the set up of the iconic man himself, is as compelling as it is splendidly entertaining. It be a traditional Western for the traditional Western fan. Nice! 8/10
2016-01-02

Recommendations

The Night of the Grizzly
2.9

The Night of the Grizzly

1966-04-20

Marshall "Big Jim" Cole turns in his badge and heads to Wyoming with his family in order to settle o

Carry On Cowboy
3.1

Carry On Cowboy

1965-11-26

Stodge City is in the grip of the Rumpo Kid and his gang. Mistaken identity again takes a hand as a

Pale Rider
3.6

Pale Rider

1985-06-28

A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to en

Wild Wild West
2.7

Wild Wild West

1999-06-30

Legless Southern inventor Dr. Arliss Loveless plans to rekindle the Civil War by assassinating Presi

The Great Silence
3.7

The Great Silence

1968-11-22

A mute gunslinger fights in the defense of a group of outlaws and a vengeful young widow, against a

Gun Law
2.3

Gun Law

1938-05-13

Finding a man alone in the desert, Marshal Tom is relieved - of his horse, clothes and water. When h

Rio Bravo
3.9

Rio Bravo

1959-03-08

A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young g

Once Upon a Time in the West
4.1

Once Upon a Time in the West

1968-12-21

As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jil

The Magnificent Seven
3.8

The Magnificent Seven

1960-10-12

An oppressed Mexican peasant village hires seven gunfighters to help defend their homes.

The Ox-Bow Incident
3.9

The Ox-Bow Incident

1943-03-11

A posse discovers a trio of men they suspect of murder and cow theft and are split between handing t

Open Range
3.6

Open Range

2003-08-11

A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a

Westworld
3.4

Westworld

1973-08-15

Delos is a futuristic amusement park that features themed worlds populated by human-like androids. A

Tears of the Black Tiger
3.2

Tears of the Black Tiger

2000-09-29

Dum, the son of a peasant falls in love with Rumpoey, the daughter of a wealthy and respected family

3:10 to Yuma
3.6

3:10 to Yuma

2007-09-06

In Arizona in the late 1800s, infamous outlaw Ben Wade and his vicious gang of thieves and murderers

VeggieTales: The Ballad of Little Joe
2.4

VeggieTales: The Ballad of Little Joe

2003-08-17

Join Little Joe and his rootin' tootin' French pea brothers on an adventure that will take them from

Wyatt Earp
3.4

Wyatt Earp

1994-06-24

From Wichita to Dodge City, to the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Wyatt Earp is taught that nothing matte

River of No Return
3.4

River of No Return

1954-04-30

An itinerant farmer and his young son help a heart-of-gold saloon singer search for her estranged hu

Raiders of Red Gap
3

Raiders of Red Gap

1943-09-30

One man wants to control all the land in the state to graze all his cattle. His band of outlaws are

Vengeance
5

Vengeance

2023-11-04

A former bandit goes back to his old ways to hunt his brother's killer after he was killed in cold b

My Darling Clementine
3.7

My Darling Clementine

1946-10-17

Three brothers stop off for a night in the town of Tombstone. The next morning they find one of thei