When British filmmaker Michael Winner died in 2013, I decided to go back and revisit several of his movies (which I have done on many occasions) and the one that always makes the biggest impression is LAWMAN. When I first saw it on the big screen back in 1971, I was impressed with the big name cast (Burt Lancaster, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Ryan), the number of TV regulars (Ralph Waite, J.D. Cannon, Albert Salmi) and absolutely stunned by the finale. Now many years later I’m still impressed but somewhat saddened by Gerald Wilson’s screenplay especially now with Congress constantly at an impasse and the rampart gun violence that is everywhere around us. It seems that we have gone backwards since 1971 not forward. As that statement implies, and as you can read in other reviews, LAWMAN is no mere Western. It’s a morality play about the inability to compromise and its inevitable consequences.
Burt Lanaster, one of Hollywood’s most unabashed liberals, was immediately drawn to the script of a no-nonsense marshal who never deviates from the letter of the law no matter what the cost. In the beginning we admire his refusal to be corrupted by bribes and his determination to bring in the lawbreakers who shot up his town. By the end we hate him. His unwillingness to yield or compromise has cost the lives of many men including some who weren’t guilty. Of course cattleman Lee J. Cobb & his men could have willingly gone with Lancaster knowing that they would have gotten off with a slap on the wrist but he too is unwilling to compromise thus setting the stage for the tragic conclusion. Although tame by today’s standards, the violent finale remains unsettling for its implications which are left up to the viewer.
Director Winner, who would go on to make the highly controversial DEATH WISH with Charles Bronson, had the ability early in his career to make movies that were thought provoking as well as entertaining (THE JOKERS, THE NIGHTCOMERS, CHATO’S LAND). The runaway success of DEATH WISH essentially ended his career as a “serious” filmmaker as all the studios wanted was more of the same. When THE SENTINEL, a 1977 horror film that is now highly regarded flopped, his Hollywood days were numbered and he went back to England where he made a series of interesting films (DIRTY WEEKEND, A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL, APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH) that failed to make any kind of impact. He retired from films in 1998 after PARTING SHOTS and became a successful restaurant critic. Look him up on imdb and then check out his films. His ability to entertain first and then leave food for thought afterwards makes his movies a worthwhile experience.
The Capsule Critic 