The Shootist
THE SHOOTIST (PG)
D: Don Siegel
Paramount/DEG (M.J. Frankovich & William
Self)
US 1976
100 mins
Western
W: Miles Hood Swarthout & Scott
Hale [based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout]
DP: Bruce Surtees
Ed: Douglas Stewart
Mus: Elmer Bernstein
PD: Robert Boyle
John Wayne (J.B. Brooks), Lauren Bacall (Bond
Rogers), Ron Howard (Gillom Rogers), James Stewart (Dr. Hostetler), Richard Boone (Sweeney)
John Wayne's final film is a fitting tribute to the career of
the iconic movie star, as well as being a solid attempt to revive a genre which was slowly going dormant at the tail end of the 1970's.
The Duke plays ageing gunfighter John Bernard Brooks, who,
upon learning that he has a terminal cancer, decides to live out his final days in peace, but when he tries to settle down at a halfway house on the outskirts of Carson City, his notorious
reputation catches up with him and he has little choice but to go out in a blaze of glory.
John Wayne delivers one of the finest performances of his
entire career in this swan song, and Lauren Bacall & Ron Howard are also very good in support.
Despite receiving excellent reviews from critics at the time
of its release, the underwhelming performance at the box office sadly struck another nail in the coffin of the dying western genre.
7/10
