Alicia I love this movie so much

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

zardoz-13 "Virginian" star Joel McCrea displays his virile charisma as legendary frontier lawman 'Bat' Masterson in "Fort Massacre" director Joseph M. Newman's an above-average but often predictable "The Gunfight in Dodge City," that Walter Mirisch produced a couple of years after John Sturges' superlative shoot'em up "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. Mind you, "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" was casual about its fidelity to facts, and "Two Guns and a Badge" scenarist Daniel B. Ullman and "Fort Massacre" scribe Martin Goldsmith are just as guilty. Indeed, Dodge City, Kansas, existed, and there was a 'Bat' Masterson as well as an Ed Masterson. However, Ullman and Goldsmith have altered the circumstances around Ed's unfortunate demise to stimulate conflict on our hero's motivation to eliminate the culpable adversaries. The production values are better-than-average, and the cast features several familiar faces, even those lurking on the periphery. Look for Robert Mitchum's younger brother John, for example, as a boisterous cowboy eager to whoop it up. Aside from seasoned western veteran Joel McCrea, the cast includes John McIntire, Richard Anderson, James Westerfield, Walter Coy, Don Haggerty, and the always dependable Harry Lauter as Ed Masterson. Basically, aside from the general facts, "The Gunfight at Dodge City" amounts to a dusty, standard-issue horse opera about the taming a wild cattle town and the evils of killing. Newman confines the action to a trim 81, so neither it nor he wear out their welcome. "Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend" lenser Carl E. Guthrie deploys his Cinemascope lens for the best effect, and this western looks better than it deserves. Western aficionados will notice that our hero is caught between the two typical women--the saloon girl and a preacher's daughters--and the outcome clashes with what usually occurs in a western. If you enjoy westerns, you'll find that Newman handles with clichés with competence.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) Somehow this western did not come out right. It is not the fault of the actors, McCrea is as good as always and Julie Adams is better than in any film I have seen her. No problem with the story either. I did not like the action scenes, except when there is a fistfight between McCrea and Don Haggerty. The shootouts were too quick, no strategy whatsoever,and not dramatic enough. The director can be blamed for that. Comparing this film with "Colorado Territory" made in 1949, a great western with McCrea you get to the conclusion that instead of evolving, in some cases the westerns regressed. This was to be the final film made by McCrea in his career. Good thing, Peckinpah saved him from this sad goodbye.

bkoganbing My vote has always been that of all the great stars identified as western heroes, none was more upright than Joel McCrea. In fact whenever he tried to vary that character, the results usually weren't that good. Even in comedy parts like his films with Preston Sturges, he's still an honorable man, albeit caught up in some lunacy.McCrea never crossed the line into making himself look ridiculous like Dudley Doo-Right and The Gunfight at Dodge City is a case in point. Here he's playing Bat Masterson who has come into Dodge City after a killing in another town and buys an interest in the Lady Gay Saloon owned by widow Nancy Gates. Brother Ed Masterson, played by Harry Lauter is the town marshal and he's keeping company with preacher's daughter played by Julie Adams.Brother Ed is shot in the back during a cowboy hurrahing of Dodge City and Bat steps in to take his place. He brings some law and order back to Dodge City and makes both friends and enemies in the process. And he's got both the women mentioned before interested in him.Fate would have it, a friend from another town comes back in his life. He wants him to bust his brother, who's mentally retarded, out of custody. The brother has killed a man who was making fun of him. He owes this guy big time and he has a responsibility to his badge in Dodge City.I won't say anything, but Joel McCrea never took the less honorable route in his cinematic career. And as for which woman he winds up with? See the film.Also look for an unusual performance against type from Richard Anderson. Anderson usually plays nice guys and he's best known for being Lee Majors boss in the Six Million Dollar Man. He's a serpentine villain here and a good one.I saw this when I was 12 years old when it was the second feature of a double bill. That's what McCrea westerns were relegated to at that time. But Joel McCrea was a real cowboy hero to this 12 year old.Still is.

Mister-UHF Absent from this film are Wyatt Earp, Masterson's close friend and colleague in Dodge City, and Masterson's dapper clothing, a lifelong trademark, two major flaws in the film. His avoidance of public office doesn't ring true, either. The plot itself takes considerable liberties with the truth. (The television series "Bat Masterson" was closer to the truth in spirit and sometimes in fact.)However, McCrea's intelligent and introspective portrayal of Masterson is on the mark. The acting of him and the rest of the cast carry the film, which is saddled with uninspired direction.