Phil Karlson’s seminal CinemaScope Western with an obsessive focus on dark familial burdens, Gunman’s Walk plays out the rivalry between a father and his surrogate son that escalates into a murderous confrontation worthy of Greek tragedy. Father and widower Lee Hackett (Van Heflin) is at odds with his blue-eyed boy Ed (Tab Hunter), rival of his good brother Davy (James Darren) for love-object Clee Chouard (Kathryn Grant). An unparalleled period piece that defines what then was the classic virtue of the adult Western. Screenwriter Frank Nugent, who a year earlier had written The Searchers, wrote many Ford westerns including The Quiet Man, Mister Roberts, and Fort Apache.
Restored in 4K by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Restored from the 35mm Original Picture Negative and the 35mm Original Magnetic Mono Soundtrack Master. 4K scanning and digital image restoration by Cineric, Inc. Sound restoration by BluWave Audio. Color grading, conforming, additional image restoration, and DCP creation (preserving the original Cinemascope aspect ratio 2.55:1) by Motion Picture Imaging with colorist Sheri Eisenberg. Restoration supervised by Grover Crisp.