WICHITA (1955)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 81 Minutes 35 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Dual-Mono 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.55:1)
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Joel McCrea, Vera Miles, Lloyd Bridges, Carl Benton Reid, Walter Sande, Robert J. Wilke, Keith Larsen, Edgar Buchanan, Walter Coy, Peter Graves, John Smith, Sam Peckinpah, Jack Elam
Wichita (1955) is an American CinemaScope Western directed by Jacques Tourneur (Cat People) and starring
Joel McCrea (Ride the High Country) as a former buffalo hunter named Wyatt Earp, yup, that one and the same legendary lawman, and it plays pretty fast and loose with he historical record in this telling of his earlier life, before he made history in Dodge City and Tombstone. Earp arrives in the bustling frontier town of Wichita, Kansas where the railroad is newly arrived. He's looking to make his success their as a businessman, but he finds that the place is overrun with outlaws and miscreants, resulting in the accidental death of a young boy during drunken night of revelry. After which he reluctantly accept the position of sheriff when it's offered by the mayor (Carl Benton Reid, Pork Chop Hill). In short order he nearly single-handedly jails over a dozen gun-toting cowboys, including their cattle rancher owner Clint Wallace (Walter Sande, Invaders from Mars) and the irate cattle cowboy low-lifes Ben Thompson (Robert J. Wilke, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf) and Gyp Clements (Lloyd Bridges, Rocketship X-M). He also brings on a young newspaperman named Bat Masterson (Keith Larsen, Women of the Prehistoric Planet) as his capable but inexperienced deputy.
He makes a name of himself as a no-nonsense lawman, but runs afoul of the Wichita's elite when he deicides to ban guns outright from the streets of the city - with the exception of law enforcement 'natch, a decision which angers saloon owner Doc Black (Edgar Buchanan, Ride the High Country) and banker Sam McCoy (Walter Coy, I Eat Your Skin), who fear the gun restriction will scare off cattlemen who the city depends on for it's prosperity, and that's not good for business. That doesn't stop the lawman from dating Laura (Vera Miles, Psycho & Psycho II), McCoy's daughter, who is quite noticeably half McCrae's age at least. The bitter saloon owner ends up hiring a pair of gunslingers Morgan (Peter Graves, Airplane!) and Jim (John Smith, Blood Legacy) to kill Earp, which results in a fun turn of events.
This is not a very edgy Western, McCrae as Earp is solid, very serious and single-minded in his pursuit of upholding the law, but he's pretty one-dimensional - a good guy with a gun who tries not to kill anyone lest they don't give him any other choice; such as with the low-life cowpoke Gyp (Bridges), Earp gives him many outs, warning him if he comes back to Wichita he's gonna have to kill him, and I'll be danged-blasted if Gyp keeps coming back and getting on Earp's bad side again and again, until... well, he was warned! There's some good pistol slingin' action and a fairly decent horse chase and shoot out across the plains after an attempt on Earp's life, but this is one of those American Westerns that just lacks any serious bite or visceral conflict, and having grown up on Sergio Leone westerns this is a bit tame, but it's still a solid watch, just a bit of a straight-shooter so to speak, and McCrae's earp is too much of a Boyscout for my tastes. Also, be on the lookout for a cameo from Sam Peckinpah (dir. of Straw Dogs) and Jack Elam (Hannie Caulder) before he got crusty in his old age as - what else? - a cowpoke. Another draw is the cinematography, there's a series of night scenes under a full moon that is obviously shot on a sound stage early on that look phenomenal, this is a very handsome Technicolor production with striking composition, I just wish the story had more shades of gray and wasn't so dang black and white about things.
Audio/Video: Wichita (1955) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from WAC in 1080p HD framed in the original 2.55:1 Cinemascope framing. The source is in wonderful shape with nary a blemish, WAC did a phenomenal restoration on this one, fine film grain is nicely resolved and detail and texture in the close-up does not disappoint. Colors are strong throughout, while the exteriors are largely arid and dry looking the interiors showcase some splendid primaries by way of red, blue and purples. Depth and clarity also look terrific. Audio chores are capably handled by an uncompressed DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono track that exports dialogue, gunfire, saloon ruckus and the Hans J. Salter (The Invisible Man Returns) score, plus the hokey-pokey Tex Ritter title song without any issues.
Extras include a pair of Tex Avery cartoons by way of "Deputy Droopy" and "The First American Badman", both presented in HD. These are both available on WAC's Tex Avery Screwball Classics Blu-ray release, but I love having the Western themed gems included here as bonuses. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated movie poster, the disc inside featuring the same key artwork.
Special Features:
- CLASSIC CARTOONS "Deputy Droopy" (6:34) HD + "The First American Badman" (6:33) HD
Screenshots from the WAC Blu-ray:
Extras:
