Tonight's Movie: Wichita (1955) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

The Warner Archive Collection has just released a Blu-ray edition of a favorite Joel McCrea Western, WICHITA (1955).

McCrea plays Wyatt Earp in this film directed by Jacques Tourneur. Tourneur had previously directed McCrea in the great STARS IN MY CROWN (1950) as well as in STRANGER ON HORSEBACK (1955).

The story finds Earp reluctantly taking on the job as marshal of Wichita after a child is killed by the shooting of an unruly mob of cowboys.

The townspeople initially support Earp, only to later fear that in cleaning up the town, he's simultaneously ruining a significant amount of their business. Wyatt, however, won't back down, and a shocking betrayal by the town doctor (Edgar Buchanan) combined with another death eventually wins Wyatt the gratitude of Wichita citizens.

I wrote extensively about the film back in 2013, and I wrote more about it in a Classic Movie Hub column on Wyatt Earp films in 2018. I'd like to refer readers to those essays for further details on the story and my critical impressions of the film.

As I noted in 2013, director Tourneur takes a number of familiar elements and orchestrates them into "something more special than the norm, starting with a solid, well-paced script and Joel McCrea's firm, gallant performance."

Vera Miles appears as Wyatt's sweetheart, and the deep cast includes familiar faces such as Lloyd Bridges, Wallace Ford, Robert J. Wilke, Jack Elam, Keith Larsen, Mae Clarke, Walter Coy, Carl Benton Reid, and John Smith.

My favorite supporting performance is Peter Graves as Morgan Earp; he's handsome and charismatic, and I only wish he'd had a larger role.

WICHITA runs 81 minutes. It was written by Daniel B. Ullman based on his own story.

The movie was filmed in CinemaScope and Technicolor by Harold Lipstein; Lipstein and Tourneur do a particularly impressive job filling the wide canvas, starting with an opening shot of McCrea appearing as a horseman on the distant horizon.

The Blu-ray print and sound quality are outstanding, as is typical of the Warner Archive Collection.

Disc extras consist of a pair of Tex Avery cartoons, DEPUTY DROOPY (1955) and THE FIRST BAD MAN (1955).

This is a good month for Warner Archive Blu-rays starring McCrea and his wife, Frances Dee, as LITTLE WOMEN (1933), in which Dee played Meg March, has also just been released on Blu-ray. Look for a review here at a future date.

WICHITA is highly recommended.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from the Amazon Warner Archive Collection Store, Movie Zyng, or from any online retailers were Blu-rays are sold.

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