Lawman (1971)

Burt Lancaster is Jared Maddox, marshal in the town of Bannock, where a group of cowboys got drunk and killed an old man.

He’s trailed those cowboys to Sabbath, only to discover they work for Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb), a cattle king who rules the town and its marshal (Robert Ryan as Cotton Ryan).

Maddox has already dispatched of one of the men he was seeking. As a result, some of the rest prefer a violent approach to solving the problem he presents.

But Bronson has worked 30 years to build his cattle empire and prefers to negotiate. He proposes to compensate the family of the man who was accidentally killed and to buy off Maddox, if necessary.

Well, Maddox won’t be bought. And Bronson’s in no mood to negotiate once the marshal from Maddox guns down Harvey Stenbaugh, his close friend, in a fair fight.

For Maddox, the journey to Sabbath also means a reunion with a former lover, Laura Shelby (Sheree North). Hurd Price, the man she’s now living with, is on the list of men Maddox wants.

She begs him for leniency, but Maddox is a hard man. And not one to bend the law for anyone.

Burt Lancaster as Jared Maddox, a man who won’t be bought, in Lawman (1971)

Robert Ryan as Cotton Ryan in Lawman (1971)

Review:

Except for the violence, parts of this play like a TV Western. But it builds up to a fine ending that includes a couple of surprises. And Ryan, Lancaster and Cobb turned in solid performances as aging men searching for their place in a changing West.

The men sought by Maddox include Albert Salmi in the role of Bronson’s longtime friend Stenbaugh, Robert Duvall as Vernon Adams, Ralph Waite (later of “The Waltons” fame) as Jack Dekker and J.D. Cannon as Laura’s cowardly common law husband.

Richard Jordan plays Crowe, a young gun who admires Maddox and refuses to go up against him. And John McGiver is the hard-of-hearing and weak-willed mayor of Sabbath.

Sheree North — at one point considered the next Marilyn Monroe — plays the woman who loves Maddow and momentarily tempts him to change. She enjoyed a long TV career that included roles as Lou Grant’s girlfriend on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and Kramer’s mom on “Seinfeld.”

Sheree North as Laura Shelby in Lawman (1971)

J.D. Cannon as Hurd Price in Lawman (1971)

Directed by:
Michael Winner

Cast:
Burt Lancaster … Jared Maddox
Robert Ryan … Cotton Ryan
Lee J. Cobb … Vincent Bronson
Sheree North … Laura Shelby
Albert Salmi … Harvey Stenbaugh
Robert Duvall … Vernon Adams
Richard Jordan … Crowe Wheelwright
Ralph Waite … Jack Dekker
John Beck … Jason Bronson
William Watson …. Choctaw Lee
J.D. Cannon … Hurd Price
Joseph Wiseman … Lucas
Walter Brooke … Luther Harris
John McGiver … Mayor Sam Bolden
Robert Emhardt … Hersham
Charles Tyner … Minister
Richard Bull … Dusaine

Runtime: 99 min.

Lee J. Cobb as Vincent Bronson in The Lawman (1971)

Richard Jordan as Crowe Wheelwright in Lawman (1971)

Memorable lines:

Bronson: “Mark was a good man with a gun.”
Ryan: “He was a big mouth who thought he was a good man with a gun. There’s a cold hole in the ground between the two.”

Vincent Bronson after Harvey Stenbaugh’s death: “I want him (Maddox), Ryan. I want him broken. I want his face in the dirt. I’ll hang the rest of him — hang him for the murderer he is.”

Cotton Ryan: “You pay me, Mr. Bronson, and I eat your dirt. But that don’t make what you say right.”

Price to Bronson: “When are you going after Maddox?”
Bronson: “When the dead are buried.”
Price: “He needs killing.”
Bronson: “No man needs killing.”

Maddox: “Can’t change what you are. And if you try, something always calls you back.”

Robert Duvall as Vernon Adams in Lawman (1971)

Ralph Waite as Jack Dekker in Lawman (1971)

Albert Salmi as Harvey Stenbaugh in Lawman (1971_

John McGiver as Mayor Golden and Walter Brooke as Luther Harris in Lawman (1971)

Joseph Wiseman as Lucas in Lawman (1971)

Burt Lancaster as Jared Maddox in Lawman (1971)