page_title: Winchester '73
section_title: Plot
hierarchical_section_title: Winchester '73 / Plot
caption_attribution_description: Cropped screenshot of the film Winchester '73
context_page_description: Winchester '73 is a 1950 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea and Stephen McNally. Written by Borden Chase and Robert L. Richards, the film is about the journey of a prized rifle from one ill-fated owner to another and a cowboy's search for a murderous fugitive. Rock Hudson portrays an American Indian and Tony Curtis plays a besieged cavalry trooper, both in small roles at the beginnings of their careers. The film received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Written American Western. This is the first Western film collaboration between Anthony Mann and James Stewart, and was filmed in black and white.
  In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
context_section_description: Lin McAdam and 'High-Spade' Frankie Wilson, on the trail of a man named Dutch Henry Brown with whom Lin has a personal score to settle, arrive in Dodge City, Kansas just in time to see a man forcing a saloon-hall girl named Lola Manners (Shelley Winters) onto the stagecoach leaving town. Lin confronts the man but backs down once he learns that he is standing up to Sheriff Wyatt Earp (Will Geer). Earp informs the two men that firearms are not allowed in town and they must check them in with Earp's brother Virgil.  Lin and Dutch lay eyes on each other in the saloon, but are unable to fight due to the persuasive presence of Earp.
  Lin enters a shooting contest, competing against Dutch, and many others. They end up the two finalists for a highly coveted "One of One Thousand" Winchester 1873 rifle.  Lin wins by betting that he can shoot through a stamp placed over the hole of a round piece from an Indian necklace.  After losing, Dutch claims that he is leaving town, but instead goes to Lin's room at the boarding house, ambushes him and steals the rifle.  Dutch and his two cohorts leave town with Lin and High-Spade in hot pursuit.
  Dutch and his compatriots  ride to Riker's Bar.  Because they left town in a hurry, they did not retrieve their guns from Earp. This puts them in a bad position because of the Indians in the area.  When Indian trader Joe Lamont (John McIntire) sees the perfect Winchester rifle, he is determined to get it and raises the price of his supply of purchasable weapons high enough that Dutch and his men cannot afford them.  Dutch's only option is to trade the perfect rifle for Lamont's three hundred dollars in gold and their choice of weapons from the pile that Lamont is going to sell to the Indians.  Dutch has been consistently losing to the trader playing cards, but decides to lay down one more bet – the three hundred in gold – in a last-ditch attempt to regain the rifle.  He loses.
  Lamont takes his guns to meet his Indian buyers, but their leader Young Bull (Rock Hudson) doesn't like the old, worn-out merchandise he is offered; he wants the guns that Crazy Horse used at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  Young Bull sees the perfect Winchester and wants it.  When Lamont refuses to sell, he is robbed and scalped.
  Lola and her fiancé Steve Miller (Charles Drake) are in a wagon heading to the site of their new home.  The left rear wheel of the wagon is squeaking loudly because Steve forgot to grease it back in town. As they are pursued by Young Bull and his warriors, the wheel slows the wagon to the point where it becomes clear they will not be able to outrun the Indians. Panicking, Steve jumps on his horse and rides off, claiming he is going ahead to find help; Lola is stranded. Not far along, however, Steve sees a small encampment of soldiers and goes back to retrieve her.  Lin and High-Spade, chased by the same Indians, ride into the encampment that night.
  
  The soldiers are new to the territory and have no experience fighting Indians.  Lin gives their sergeant (Jay C. Flippen) tactical advice and they prepare for an attack they expect early the next morning. When the morning comes, Lin gives Lola his revolver, and implies that she should commit suicide with the final bullet to avoid capture. After a fierce battle, the Indian leader is killed.  When everything is over, Lin and High-Spade leave to continue their search for Dutch; they ride past the Winchester where Young Bull had dropped it when he fell.  It is found by Doan (Tony Curtis) and the Sergeant who, not wanting the young soldier to lose the gun to an officer, gives it to Steve.  
  Steve and Lola reach the Jameson house, which is set to become theirs. He wants her to stay there with Mrs. Jameson and her two small children while he goes to meet Waco Johnnie Dean, much to the disapproval of Lola.  Waco (Dan Duryea) and his men show up at the Jameson house unexpectedly, on the run from a posse led by Sheriff Noonan (Ray Teal). Once Waco sees the Winchester, he covets it.  He repeatedly insults Steve in an attempt to provoke him into a gunfight.  Steve d
caption: Shelley Winters and James Stewart
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