HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Lawman Way Out West with Winner
Year: 1971
Director: Michael Winner
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Duvall, Sheree North, Joseph Wiseman, Richard Jordan, Ralph Waite
Genre: WesternBuy from Amazon
Rating:  5 (from 1 vote)
Review: Hard-bitten Marshall Jared Maddox (Burt Lancaster) is hot on the trail of six ranch hands who killed an old man during a drunken spree. Like these wanted men, local sheriff Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan), once a fearsome gunfighter now gutless and corrupt, is in the pocket of rancher Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb), whose own son stands among the guilty. One by one, Maddox guns down those responsible, even though Ryan warns him his dogged pursuit of justice has unleashed unnecessary bloodshed and an old flame, Laura Shelby (Sheree North) begs him to spare one of the men who is now her lover. Meanwhile, sick of the lawman interfering in their affairs, a local lynch mob decide to take things into their own hands.

Everyone’s favourite raconteur, bon viveur and insurance spokesperson Michael Winner was the man behind this solid, if unspectacular western. For his first dabble in the saddle - swiftly followed by Chato’s Land (1972) where Winner swapped a villainous namesake for the real Charles Bronson - the brash British director secured Durango, Mexico for his shooting location ahead of Howard Hawks who had wanted to shoot Rio Lobo (1970) there. The Hollywood legend was supposedly less than pleased. Lawman might have made a better swansong for Hawks given how Winner entirely lacks his precision. Having said that, although his chaotic, zoom-happy direction makes a mess of an intriguing story, this still ranks among Winner’s better films.

Some have picked up on a spaghetti western influence, what with its dusty, sun-scorched town, ultra-gory violence (characters don’t bleed, they explode gleaming red pustules) and abundant close-ups on purposeful eyes, but Lawman is actually a remake of Man With The Gun (1955) a western starring Robert Mitchum. The film touches upon that familiar Seventies western theme “those days have passed” as both Maddox and Bronson lament the passing of old friends and values, but is more interesting when it touches on Winner’s favourite subject of vigilante justice. More contemplative about the ethical dilemmas behind vigilantism and law enforcement than his infamous Death Wish (1974), the film implies the implacable marshal is as much at fault as with the outlaws.

Winner surprisingly shows more empathy for the downtrodden outlaws than the no-nonsense lawman, although the bloodbath finale curtails all these moral quandaries with a nihilistic shrug. Though the film benefits from a great cast of craggy character actors, including lively turns from Winner favourites like Ralph Waite and Richard Jordan plus good support from Sheree North and an early role for Robert Duvall, the director inexplicably undermines some meaty drama by staging silly sight gags in the background. The monolithic Burt Lancaster is well cast as the stoic, inflexible Maddox, making this something like how Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) might play had the citizens of Dodge City got fed up and turned on Wyatt Earp.

Reviewer: Andrew Pragasam

 

This review has been viewed 5602 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 

Michael Winner  (1935 - 2013)

Opinionated British producer-director whose early comedies - You Must Be Joking, The Jokers, I'll Never Forget Whatsisname - were promising enough, but come the seventies he had settled into a pattern of overblown thrillers.

Of these, Death Wish was a huge hit, and Winner directed two similar sequels. Other films included horrors (The Nightcomers, The Sentinel), Westerns (Lawman, Chato's Land), thrillers (Scorpio, Dirty Weekend) and disastrous comedies (Bullseye!). Also a restaurant critic.

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
Enoch Sneed
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Mary Sibley
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: