Shoot Out (1971)

I didn't expect much, but director Hathaway never made a bad movie, so I took a chance. It wasn't up to his best, however by the time it was over, it proved to be time well spent. Glaring weaknesses like inane dialogue and bizarre villains were overcome by Hathaway's trademark emphasis on character development, great cinematography and story line. one I will watch again.

It's a good story and the little girl steals the show. Loved the movie and glad I bought it

Gregory Peck delivers another of his memorable acting roles as a straight out of prison aging bank robber. We are introduced to his character when he arrives at a rail head where he believes he is to pick up a small portion of some of the robbery money he left with a prostitute girlfriend. He is also there to get information on what happened to one of the gang that sold him and the others in gang out and with whom he wants to get revenge. What he finds instead is that the prostitute apparently has had his child (a little girl), has died, and then, later from the train conductor, finds that unless he agrees to take the child he would not receive the money.Off he goes with the child in tow on his revenge travel pursued by some young wild cowboys who are well aware of what Peck's character wants to accomplish. To say more would spoil the movie which is a good western, is well acted by both Peck and the little girl, and is a good storyline.You cannot go wrong in adding this to your western DVD collection in Blu-Ray.

This movie is worth seeing just for Gregory Peck, who never made a bad movie. Here he is in Atticus Finch mode in an old West setting, and Peck pulls it off grandly. This is not a film without flaws (such as Peck letting his guard down in a widow's ranch house with the bad guys hot on his trail- he had to have known they would be following him), but there are genuine moments of suspense and tension, especially a "William Tell" like sequence where villian Robert Lyons attempts to shoot tea cups off the head of the little girl. Overall, a western worth seeing.As far as the audio/video quality, both are very good to excellent. This disc is one of the "Universal Vault Series" manufactured-on-demand (MOD) discs, similar to the Warner Archives discs. I watched this disc on a 60 inch Sony Bravia HD-TV, using a Panasonic Bluray player. The video image transfer was excellent and looked like a mass produced retail DVD. My sound system has 7.1 surround sound, and the audio of this disc was also very good. I did not have to turn the volume up very loud to enjoy full stereo sound.The colors are rich, especially in some of the scenes involving broad vistas and panoramic shots. The darks looked good with little to no artifacting. I have purchased about five of these Universal MOD discs, and SHOOT OUT is the first one I've watched. Overall, I am very pleased with the quality of this MOD disc.It is unfortunate if MOD is the future of DVD, with the studios no longer producing pressed DVD's of their catalog titles, but on the other hand, I'd rather have these films on DVD, even MOD, than not have them at all.

I saw Shoot Out when it was first released and just watched it again a few days ago. Although the negative comments that have been posted are generally accurate, the film has several elements that make it worth watching. Imagine combining 'To Kill a Mockingbird' with 'One-Eyed Jacks' and you will have a pretty good idea of what this story is all about. Unfortunately Gregory Peck did not put Aticus Finch energy into the Clay Lomax character, and even though Dawn Lyn (Dodie from 'My Three Sons') is fine as the little girl-the idea just doesn't work. There is at least one story too many in this movie and it would take a great script to pull it together. But as someone has already mentioned this is not a great script and there are 1970's dialogue issues that periodically jar the viewer back to reality, making it impossible for this thing to ever really get going.On the plus side Robert Lyons gives a nice 'really out there' performance as the wacko bad guy. Lyons was that era's Gary Oldham. Also the production designer did a good job on the overall feel of the film, there several absolutely great visuals (check out the shot of Dawn Lyn standing on the train station platform), and there is a very original non-formula climax. The production has excellent overall unity and someone really paid attention to continuity issues (watch how the progress of the water dripping on the cabin table is matched to the time sequence of the scene).What stayed with me through the years and motivated me to watch this again was the first film performance of Susan Tyrrell, as the dumb but plucky saloon girl. She actually deserved a supporting actress nomination. Then she played dumb and plucky again in 'Fat City' and actually received a Supporting Actress Nomination. At the time I was convinced that she would be the next big female star. There was a young actress talent vacuum in the 1969-78 period and hack blondes like Candice Bergen and Cybill Sheppard got a lot of work-with very painful to watch results. That many of their parts did not go to Tyrrell and to Elizabeth Hartman is an example of the Hollywood anti-meritocracy. So check out her performances and curse Hollywood for not recognizing her potential and giving her a lot more work.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

All though that I didn't get a chance to watch this on dvd, but I streamed this movie on cable about a year ago, and it was a great movie. Gregory Peck starred in several other western movies, bur shootout was the only one I saw so far. A cowboy always likes a good western movie where there's a gunfight, horse chase, or a saloon fight. Can't have a good western movie without a good horse chase or a great saloon fight.

Watch this one just to see and hear Gregory Peck. The plot is weak. The script is so so, The musical score says 70's. And the supporting actors are horrible. That said - the child who plays "Decky" does a great job with a less than great part.

Just love this classic and it came in good condition !!

An excellent Henry Hathaway film with Gregory Peck in heroic form. A fine example of the western genre, fine photograph and support from the competent cast.

excellent!