Wichita

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Wichita

1955

1h 21m

Western

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

63%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

After a group of drunken trail riders runs amok, Mayor Andrew Hope (Carl Benton Reid) of Wichita, Kan., recruits the intrepid Wyatt Earp (Joel McCrea) to end lawlessness. Armed and ready for anything, the new marshal decides he will end gun violence simply by banning guns. Soon Earp must face crooked rancher Clint Wallace (Walter Sande) and whiskey slinger Doc Black (Edgar Buchanan), vicious locals who like Wichita exactly as it is and don't take kindly to being told what to do.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

03/25/2013

Daniel Ullman's script turns backroom political dealings into high drama; Tourneur's poised and lyrical direction elevates it to a sort of secular scripture.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

06/25/2005

Jacques Tourneur's first and best film in CinemaScope is also one of his strangest westerns.

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Jul 25

7/10

This is a western in the vein of older, more naïve works, where the heroes are noble and principled, and the villains mean-spirited and untrustworthy.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

09/09/2023

2.5/4

A fairly intelligent and moderately entertaining Western.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

05/28/2021

7/10

A simple and entertaining Technicolor western that, through rich panoramas captured in CinemaScope, revisits the myth of Wyatt Earp with a good role from Joel McCrea. [Full review in Spanish]

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Nathanael Hood

The Retro Set

12/28/2018

8/10

...an astounding little Western.

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Ernie K

@ErnieK 02/13/2025

Well written and acted western, particularly by Joel McCrea. Relatively brief and to the point, it captures your focus and keeps moving in heroic fashion. One of the better westerns that have been buried by time but which fully deserves a fresh look for it's interest and style.

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Jose G

@RT90009580 01/21/2024

Solid Western. Its short running time and relatively modest premise makes it seem like an extended episode of a really good Western TV series, but the great acting and Cinemascope/Technicolor cinematography make for an enjoyable Western adventure (historical inaccuracies and all).

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10/23/2023

Really good movie about Wyatt herb as a sheriff of Wichita yes I highly recommend this one. James Welch Henderson Arkansas October 22, 2023

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Steve D

@RT35616104 07/02/2023

Lames western trying to cash in on Earp.

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02/10/2019

Wichita is atop the top-shelf Westerns.

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ashley h

@ashleyhobgood87 11/06/2018

Wichita is an amazing film. It is about Wyatt Earp who reluctantly accepts the Marshal's job after noticing the total lawlessness in Wichita in 1874. Joel McCrea and Vera Miles give fantastic performances. The screenplay is good but a little slow in places. Jacques Tourneur did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the adventure. Wichita is a must see.

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Jacques Tourneur

Director

Joel McCrea

Wyatt Earp

Vera Miles

Laurie McCoy

Lloyd Bridges

Gyp Clements

Wallace Ford

Arthur Whiteside

Edgar Buchanan

Doc Black

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Synopsis

After a group of drunken trail riders runs amok, Mayor Andrew Hope (Carl Benton Reid) of Wichita, Kan., recruits the intrepid Wyatt Earp (Joel McCrea) to end lawlessness. Armed and ready for anything, the new marshal decides he will end gun violence simply by banning guns. Soon Earp must face crooked rancher Clint Wallace (Walter Sande) and whiskey slinger Doc Black (Edgar Buchanan), vicious locals who like Wichita exactly as it is and don't take kindly to being told what to do.

Director: Jacques Tourneur
Producer: Walter Mirisch, Richard V. Heermance
Screenwriter: Daniel Bruce
Production Co: Allied Artists Pictures Corporation
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 8, 1955, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 22, 2009
Runtime: 1h 21m

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