Matt Weaver (George Segal) returns to his ranch in the southwest after the Civil War to discover that it’s been seized and sold to another man. He kills that man in a dispute, then barricades himself inside the home.
That alarms the good folks in Pecos, where everyone but Matt supported the North during the Civil War.
It’s a town ruled by corrupt Sam Brewster. A town where businessmen take advantage of war widows. And a town where they’ll pay to have their problems solved by importing a gunman.
They eventually agree to pay Jules Gaspard D’Estaing, a smartly-dressed fast gun of Creole descent, to rid the town of Matt Weaver.
But Jules quickly discovers his ability with a gun also gives him the ability to put the entire town under his thumb, and that’s something he’s going to delight in doing.
And when Jules won’t leave town when he’s asked, the same men who hired him to deal with Matt Weaver find themselves turning to the ex-Confederate for help in protecting the town against their own hired gunman.
Yul Brynner as Jules Gaspard d’Estaing, teaching a lesson in how to pronounce his name in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
George Segal as Matt Weaver, finding his help needed by the people he’s been fighting in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Review:
An interesting failure and a decidedly depressing film, this turns into a one-man show with Yul Brynner at center stage. And, like many of the film’s other characters, he seems motivated mostly by hate.
The son of a slave, he’s managed to raise his station in life by selling his gun. But in Pecos, he finds he’s sold his gun to the very type of men who have discriminated against him throughout his life.
Janice Rule plays Ruth Adams, the woman caught in the middle. She married a one-armed former Union soldier she didn’t love so she wouldn’t be waiting for Weaver, her former lover, should he return from the war.
Now he’s back. She doesn’t see a future with him, but she doesn’t want to see him killed either. Her own husband has turned into a jealous drunk.
As for Jules, he’ll make her an offer: If she runs off with him, he’ll spare Matt Weaver’s life.
Janice Rule as Ruth Adams, startled by her oft-drunk husband in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Pat HIngle as Sam Brewster, talking about the danger posed by a Rebel who’s returned to town in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Directed by:
Richard Wilson
Cast:
Yul Brynner … Jules Gaspard D’Estaing
Janice Rule … Ruth Adams
George Segal … Matt Weaver
Alfred Ryder … Doc Barker
Clifford David … Crane Adams
Brad Dexter … Kenarsie
Pat Hingle … Sam Brewster
Bert Freed … Sheriff
Mike Kellin … Blind Union veteran
John A. Alonzo … Manuel
Curt Conway … McKeever
Runtime: 92 min.
Clifford Davis as Crane Adams, making a point with his wife Ruth in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Alfred Ryder as Doc Barker and Bert Freed as the sheriff, both skeptical of Brewster’s motives in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Memorable lines:
Brewster, checking out Matt Weaver’s wound: “You got him in the arm.”
Crane Adams: “I aimed for his Reb heart.”
Brewster: “Your performance is never up to your intentions.”
Matt Weaver, to his former love Ruth Adams: “You answer me: Are you happy?”
Ruth: “Happy? This is the house I was going to live in until I died. You planted vines; I knew where I was going to plant roses. I loved you. Loved you so much that now I hate you. Because you’re a thief, Matt. You stole yourself away from me for nothing. For nothing.”
Female bystander, watching Jules take what he wants from the town: “Like a dog in a garbage heap.”
Jules: “Yes, a mad dog.”
Strother Martin as Fiddler, the barber, trying to sell a watch belonging to the husband of a war widow in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Gertrude Flynn as Hannah Guthrie, reacting to an unexpected gesture of generosity from Jules in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
John A. Alonzo as Manuel, Weaver’s friend on the Mexican side of town in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Dal Jenkins as a gunman named Dancer, making a short-lived visit to town in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Janice Rule as Ruth Adams, about to discover a woman’s viewpoint doesn’t matter in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Yul Brynner as Jules Gaspard d’Estaing, arriving for what turns out to be a longer than expected stay in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
George Segal as Matt Weaver, returning from the Civil War to find his home has been confiscated in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Pat Hingle as Sam Brewster catching Matt Weaver (George Segal) breaking into his home in Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
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