Wichita

"THE TRUE SAVAGE STORY OF WYATT EARP!"

1955 1h 21m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 61

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Former buffalo hunter and entrepreneur Wyatt Earp arrives in the lawless cattle town of Wichita Kansas. His skill as a gun-fighter makes him a perfect candidate for Marshal, but he refuses the job until he feels morally obligated to bring law and order to this wild town.

“THE TRUE SAVAGE STORY OF WYATT EARP!”

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Cast

Joel McCrea
Wyatt Earp
Vera Miles
Laurie McCoy
Lloyd Bridges
Gyp Clements
Wallace Ford
Arthur Whiteside
Edgar Buchanan
Doc Black
Peter Graves
Morgan Earp
Keith Larsen
Bat Masterson
Carl Benton Reid
Mayor Andrew Hope

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jacques Tourneur
Writers: Daniel B. Ullman, Daniel B. Ullman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

81 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

71 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Jacques Tourneur, shot by Harold Lipstein. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hans J. Salter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Austin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Joel McCrea and Vera Miles and Lloyd Bridges carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "THE TRUE SAVAGE STORY OF WYATT EARP!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0048806 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jacques Tourneur directs. Harold Lipstein behind the camera. Hans J. Salter scores. William Austin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

181 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
271 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Jacques Tourneur, shot by Harold Lipstein. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Hans J. Salter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor William Austin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Joel McCrea and Vera Miles and Lloyd Bridges carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "THE TRUE SAVAGE STORY OF WYATT EARP!".
8IMDB entry: tt0048806 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 61 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 30 themes, including "saloon", "marshal", "wyatt earp", "gunfight".

The technical file

Cinematography: Harold Lipstein
Original score: Hans J. Salter
Editing: William Austin
Makeup / hair: Robert Dawn
Runtime: 81 min · 1h 21m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Wichita (1955)

Also by

Jacques Tourneur

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2016-01-02
★ 8/10
The Kansas Law Dog! Wichita is directed by Jacques Tourneur and written by Daniel B. Ullman. It stars Joel McCrea, Vera Miles, Wallace Ford, Edgar Buchannan, Lloyd Bridges and Keith Larsen. It's filmed in Cinemascope/Technicolor with cinematography by Harold Lipstein and music by Hans J. Salter. Wichita is an origin story, that of one Wyatt Earp (McCrea), the story is set before he gets to Dodge City, where apparently some famous gunfight occurred. From a narrative stand point it's a town tamer story, Earp arrives in a newly thriving Wichita, at this point he's a hunter of buffalo only. But as the cowboys converge on the town, and things turn very dark, Earp - a bastion of good and just righteousness - finds it impossible to continue in turning down the town superior's offers of becoming the town Marshal. It's one of those Western movies that made Western movie fans become Western movie fans. A film you would have watched as a youngster and just bought totally into the good guy against the baddies central core. Of course as youngsters we wouldn't have cared a jot about thematics such as capitalism ruling over common sense, or metaphysical leanings ticking away, all while a genius director is composing shots and frames of great distinction. Hell! Even the intelligence and maturity in the writing would have escaped us, the dark passages merely incidents of no great concern... Wichita is damn fine film making. OK! It isn't wall to wall action. Sure there is a good round of knuckles, a bit of trench warfare and the standard shoot-outs, but these are just conduits to smart and compelling human drama, richly performed by McCrea (brilliantly cast) and company. Tourneur, Ullman and Lipstein make sure there is no waste on the page or via location framing, the costuming authentic and pleasing, and of course the story itself, the set up of the iconic man himself, is as compelling as it is splendidly entertaining. It be a traditional Western for the traditional Western fan. Nice! 8/10

Production companies