☰
Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Lawman

Play trailer Poster for Lawman R 1971 1h 38m Western Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
73% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 62% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
During a drunken spree in the small Wild West town of Bannock, one of a half-dozen workers from a nearby ranch accidentally shoots an innocent man. Bannock's marshal, a righteous man named Jered Maddox (Burt Lancaster), comes to the larger town of Sabbath bearing the dead body of one of the revelers and demands the surrender of the remaining five from sheriff Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan) and ranch owner Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb), starting a confrontation that threatens to engulf them all.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Lawman

Critics Reviews

View More (11)
Kevin Maher The Times (UK) Potent stuff. Rated: 4/5 Aug 27, 2021 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times What we're left with is a Western with a lot of sides but no center. Rated: 2/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand ... it’s not so much cynical as sorrowful in its clash of ideals, and never less than clear-eyed in the presentation of harsh frontier realities. Apr 6, 2024 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy All of the central characters are refreshingly complex -- few can be strictly defined as "good" or "bad." Rated: 3.5/4 Oct 3, 2021 Full Review John Mahoney Los Angeles Free Press For the budget and the hoopla and the waste, the technical components of the film are routine, the acting as good as top pros can deliver with an ordinary script and a hypothyroid director. Jan 9, 2020 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row Almost presages Unforgiven's elegiac take on the genre's violent implications, acknowledging that just because someone wears a badge doesn't mean they're the hero. Rated: 3/4 Jun 4, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (49)
Jelisije J A realistic tragic tale where a Lawman hunts down and tries to arrest a group of individuals who after a night in his town kill a man in a drunken state by accident. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/30/25 Full Review Peter H Lancaster is a compelling actor and is the reason to watch this. The story itself, a product of its time, doesn't quite make sense. He is a by-the-book lawman except when he ain't. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/15/25 Full Review Richard B Great Western movie, good storyline, another superb performance by Burt Lancaster Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/04/24 Full Review Danny N I liked it. What a cast ! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/31/23 Full Review Olivia Y Very, very underrated. The acting is superb, probably what you'd expect from a great cast I guess. It doesn't follow the usual glorified and false old west portrayed in all westerns of that time. It's gritty, grim and unrelenting in its depiction of the emotional frailties of men. The characters all have differing faults, which lead them helplessly to the climactic bloody and violent ending. Everyone loses because of egos and misplaced loyalty. Lancaster shows us a Terminator of the west. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Too preachy. Not typical of Michael Winner..... too much 'tell' and not enough 'show'. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Lawman

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Michael Winner

Director

Burt Lancaster

Bannock Marshal Jared Maddox

Robert Ryan

Sabbath Marshal Cotton Ryan

Lee J. Cobb

Vincent Bronson

Sheree North

Laura Shelby

Joseph Wiseman

Lucas

More Like This

View All
There Was a Crooked Man 82% 71% There Was a Crooked Man Watchlist The Wild Bunch 91% 90% The Wild Bunch Watchlist TRAILER for The Wild Bunch The Hunting Party 20% 55% The Hunting Party Watchlist High Plains Drifter 94% 86% High Plains Drifter Watchlist McCabe & Mrs. Miller 85% 86% McCabe & Mrs. Miller Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Lawman

Lawman (1971) Lawman (1971) Lawman (1971) Lawman (1971) Lawman (1971) Lawman (1971) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis During a drunken spree in the small Wild West town of Bannock, one of a half-dozen workers from a nearby ranch accidentally shoots an innocent man. Bannock's marshal, a righteous man named Jered Maddox (Burt Lancaster), comes to the larger town of Sabbath bearing the dead body of one of the revelers and demands the surrender of the remaining five from sheriff Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan) and ranch owner Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb), starting a confrontation that threatens to engulf them all.
Director
Michael Winner
Producer
Michael Winner
Screenwriter
Gerald Wilson
Production Co
Scimitar Productions
Rating
R (Violent Content)
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 16, 2008
Runtime
1h 38m
Most Popular at Home Now