Death Of A Gunfighter

The strange hybrid of directing styles evidenced in DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER is the only aspect of this routine western that holds any interest. The production began under the guidance of director Robert Totten, but halfway through the shoot, he was fired at the behest of star Widmark. Don Siegel replaced Totten and finished the second half of the film in nine days. The result is a strange mix of Totten's plodding style and Siegel's rapid, to-the-point approach. The contrast between the directors' filmmaking techniques is evident throughout the film; because Totten didn't shoot in sequence, Siegel had to fill in the blanks. Widmark plays a gunslinger-turned-sheriff, a...