{"id":41489,"date":"2018-12-29T15:09:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-29T22:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41489"},"modified":"2021-07-29T20:17:24","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T03:17:24","slug":"wichita-1955","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41489","title":{"rendered":"Wichita (1955)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;That&#8217;s a natural-born lawman if I ever saw one.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-41491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Poster.jpg 655w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nSharpshooter Wyatt Earp (Joel McCrea) enters Wichita, Kansas hoping to start a business, but quickly becomes lured into work as a marshal after a fatal night of lawless shooting. When Earp, with support from rookie reporter Bat Masterson (Keith Larsen), implements a ban on privately held guns, the pre-eminent townspeople &#8212; including a banker (Walter Coy) whose daughter (Vera Miles) Earp is in love with &#8212; fear this will lose them business, and try numerous tactics to get him to either soften up his policies or leave town.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jacques Tourneur Films<\/li>\n<li>Joel McCrea Films<\/li>\n<li>Lloyd Bridges Films<\/li>\n<li>Sheriffs and Marshals<\/li>\n<li>Westerns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nDirector Jacques Tourneur is best known for helming numerous horror classics &#8212; including <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17043\"><em>Cat People<\/em> (1942)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3395\"><em>The Leopard Man<\/em> (1943)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17013\"><em>I Walked With a Zombie<\/em> (1943)<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5984\"><em>Night of the Demon<\/em> (1957)<\/a> &#8212; as well as atmospheric <em>noir<\/em> outings such as <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=33258\"><em>Berlin Express<\/em> (1948)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16993\"><em>Out of the Past<\/em> (1948)<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3378\"><em>Nightfall<\/em> (1957)<\/a>; but he was proficient across genres and also made a small handful of westerns, including <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=74520\"><em>Canyon Passage<\/em> (1946)<\/a> and this fictionalized tale of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wyatt_Earp\">historic frontier marshal Wyatt Earp<\/a>. The screenplay is notable for its still-relevant presentation of the ongoing gun-control debate: while Earp recognizes that the reckless cowpokes can&#8217;t be trusted not to harm the townspeople (especially after the senseless and shocking death of a 5-year-old boy), the citizens themselves assert that &#8220;Without guns, even the good citizens aren&#8217;t protected.&#8221; The driving role played by the profit motive is also presented front and center here: the new town of Wichita is willing to put up with a huge load of nonsense and danger (&#8220;Everything Goes in Wichita!&#8221;) as long as the cowboys&#8217; newly earned money keeps rolling in; at one point a character states, &#8220;There&#8217;s a possibility we&#8217;ll all be ruined if the marshal isn&#8217;t curbed in his methods.&#8221; It&#8217;s worth watching to see how all this drama unfolds, especially given that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s3215wich.html\">a major corrupt character &#8220;is the one to suffer the worst loss before he learns his lesson.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fine direction and cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Still1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Still1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Still1.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Still1-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Still1-300x127.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Cinematography.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Cinematography-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Wichita-Cinematography-300x127.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a solid outing by a master director. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0048806\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/wichita.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s3215wich.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a natural-born lawman if I ever saw one.&#8221; Synopsis: Sharpshooter Wyatt Earp (Joel McCrea) enters Wichita, Kansas hoping to start a business, but quickly becomes lured into work as a marshal after a fatal night of lawless shooting. When Earp, with support from rookie reporter Bat Masterson (Keith Larsen), implements a ban on privately held guns, the pre-eminent townspeople &#8212; including a banker (Walter Coy) whose daughter (Vera Miles) Earp is in love with &#8212; fear this will lose&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41489\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41489"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74593,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41489\/revisions\/74593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}