A Gunfight is a 1971 American Western film directed by Lamont Johnson, starring Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash.
The film was financed by the Jicarilla Apache Nation, although there are no leading Native American characters in the story.
Douglas' fee was $150,000 plus a percentage of the profits.
Contents
Plot
Will Tenneray and Abe Cross are two aging, famous gunfighters, both in need of money.
Cross rides into town, having failed as a gold prospector. His reputation is such that everyone expects him to shoot it out with Tenneray, who capitalizes on his legend by working at the saloon to "sucker fools into buying drinks." To the town's surprise, Tenneray and Cross take a liking to one another. There is no hostility between them whatsoever.
Tenneray is desperate for money, however. He comes up with the idea to stage a duel to the death in a bullfight arena, with the ticket proceeds going to the winner. Unfortunately, by killing Cross, he reasons to Nora, his wife, "I could lose my best friend." The actual gunfight is shot in a low-key and unromanticised fashion, and is over in a couple of seconds, Cross killing Tenneray with the first bullet. (This defies conventions with the "man in black" winning.)
There is an extended fantasy sequence near the end, where we see what might have happened if Tenneray had won, which may have confused some viewers. It may be open to interpretation if this is Cross's fantasy or Tenneray's widow's fantasy.
Cast
Kirk Douglas as Will Tenneray
Johnny Cash as Abe Cross
Jane Alexander as Nora Tenneray
Karen Black as Jenny Sims
Keith Carradine as Young Gunfighter
Dana Elcar as Marv
Raf Vallone as Francisco Alvarez
Eric Douglas as Bud Tenneray
Robert J. Wilke as Marshal Tom Cater
Paul Lambert as Ed Fleury
Production
The film was based on an original script by Harold Bloom who sent it to Kirk Douglas who loved it and decided to star and co-produce. Douglas persuaded Johnny Cash to co star. Finance came in part from the oil-rich Jicarilla tribe, whose head, Chief Charlie, was an admirer of Johnny Cash. Filming took place in New Mexico.