The Gunfighter (Henry King, 1950)

by Elena Lazic

The story is what first catches the attention. A man who can draw his gun faster than anyone else finds himself forced to kill many others, in many American towns, as each new opponent tries and invariably fails to take his title. This premise would not be half as interesting if Jimmy Ringo, as is his name, was the best boxer or the best bull rider in the West. In that case, the losers would perhaps feel sore, some of them might even turn vengeful, but many more would surely take the opportunity to learn from their arrogant mistakes. Not so with guns: most of Ringo’s challengers are dead before they even realise their error. Ringo is thus caught in a vicious cycle. His reputation precedes him in every town, where he is either asked to leave by concerned sheriffs and adamant citizens, or soon forced to escape the ire of avenging family members. With no place to call home, enemies after him at all times, and the constant worry that he soon may have to kill another man he has just met, Ringo is in a state of limbo, quite literally on the threshold between life and death, surviving more than he is truly living.