In 1950, Universal-International released Winchester 73, a movie that helped revive both the classic Western genre and James Stewart’s post-war acting image. The film was praised by critics and moviegoers alike, winning an award for Best Written American Western by the Writers Guild of America. Today, Winchester 73 is widely considered one of the top Golden Age Westerns and is remembered fondly by fans of the gun that inspired the iconic film.
Rock Island Auction Company’s May 2-4 Premier Firearms Auction in Bedford, Texas offers the screen used hero gun from the film, an icon for Hollywood collectors and Winchester enthusiasts alike.
Though the prized Winchester rifle is the only specific screen used gun from the film up for bid this May, the Winchester 73 movie featured a number of interesting firearm types that can be also found at the upcoming auction. We’ll take a look at some of the history and lore behind the rifle, the film, and examine the various firearms portrayed on screen.
The Hero Gun from the Winchester 73 Movie
The Winchester 73 movie’s central conflict (and arguably the film’s true star) is a Winchester 1 of 1000 rifle, the rifle that won the West. The Winchester takes an epic journey across the frontier as it passes between cowboys, outlaws, and Indians who seek to own the incredible weapon.
One of the first scenes in the film is a close up of the exact rifle offered by Rock Island Auction Company this May, serial number 551816, one of three specially made Winchester One of One Thousand Model 1873s used in the movie. The brass plate embedded on the right side of the stock reads: “FIRST PRIZE/CENTENNIAL RIFLE SHOOT/WON BY/[BLANK]/DODGE CITY KANSAS/JULY 4TH 1876.”
The rifle is used in numerous scenes throughout the Winchester 73 movie and in various production stills and promotions. The small dings just to the rear of the plaque and just above are scarcely visible in color but shows up more prominently in black and white and demonstrate that this specific rifle is the one used for the close up shot of the rifle’s prize plaque in the film and also that this is the same rifle cradled by Jimmy Stewart in the promotional photo of him with blood on his face.
In the May 1950 issue of ‘American Rifleman’, a story by writer Bill Depperman titled “One of One Thousand” discusses the hero rifles used in the Winchester 73 movie in depth. On page 38, Depperman identifies the three rifles as Winchester Model 1873 serial numbers 551816, 703161, and 706716. He noted that “These engraved Model 1873’s were made as movie props. They are highly accurate and today are in excellent mechanical condition. They are different from conventional rifles of this type because they have gold inlay running along the right and left side of the barrel.”
An April 11, 1969, Winchester factory letter included with the rifle up for bid this May states: “The Winchester Model 1873 serial number records list number 551816 as a rifle, caliber 44, octagon barrel, and plain trigger. It was shipped from the factory on September 24, 1901.”
The letter states that the gun “is one refinished by Winchester as a ‘1 of 1000’, for use as a movie prop in the movie, ‘Winchester ’73’.” The rifle has distinctive panels of scroll gold highlighted scroll engraving with punch-dot backgrounds on the sides of the barrel and frame and is inscribed “One of One Thousand” on top of the barrel at the breech. The gold provides stark contrast making the engraving stand out on the silver screen.”
The Winchester 1 of 1000 Rifle
Historically, the Winchester One of One Thousand rifles were announced in 1875 when Winchester Repeating Arms Company discovered during factory testing that a small fraction of their rifles shot with greater accuracy. The company decided to market these exceptional rifles as a premium model that could be obtained through special order.
As Winchester described in their catalogs, “The barrel of every sporting rifle we make will be proved and shot at a target, and the target will be numbered to correspond with the barrel and be attached to it. All of these barrels that are found to make targets of extra merit will be made up into guns with set-triggers and extra finish and marked as a designating name, “One of One Thousand,” and sold at $100.00.”
While a standard Winchester 1873 was priced around $50, a One of One Thousand rifle could cost a determined buyer up to $100 or more depending on the additional custom features requested. In an era where farmland could cost less than $15 an acre in some regions out west, these exceptional Winchesters were truly a luxury firearm for most frontiersmen. In the Winchester 73 movie, Indian trader Lamont (John McIntire) offers $300 for the rifle, and Wyatt Earp declares he’d “give up my left hand” for it.
Search for the Winchester 1 of 1000 Rifles
As part of the publicity campaign surrounding the release of the Winchester 73 movie, Universal ran magazine ads before production seeking to find some surviving examples of the rare 1 of 1000 Model 1873 Winchester rifle and collect information on the guns. Universal wrote “Remember, we don’t want your “One of One Thousand” Model 73. We are only trying to find out how many of them are still in existence.”
The owner of a potential 1 of 1000 had to supply a photo of their rifle and a notarized letter of ownership, the serial number, and any additional information known about the gun, and the reward for the first 20 authentic respondents was a new Model 1894 rifle. The program was a success, bringing 22 previously unknown Winchester 1 of 1000s into the public eye and sparking a renewed interest in antique gun collecting that continues to persist today.
In a fall, 1950 press release, Universal wrote, “From obscurity these unique “One of One Thousand” Winchester Model 1873 rifles have graduated within only five months into one of the most sought after collector’s items in the country. Even garden variety Model 1873’s have doubled in price in the last few months.”
The Winchester 73 Movie
Author Stuart Lake, best known for penning the fictionalized biography of Wyatt Earp, wrote the original story concept for Winchester 73. Lake claimed his manuscript was based on a historic Winchester 1873 that was won in a shooting match and later, after being “traded, pawned, lost as a gambling debt”, the rifle was taken to Caldwell, Kansas, and presented to Marshal Henry Brown. While Henry Brown’s rifle is real, Stuart’s account is highly embellished.
The Model 1876 Straight Grip Deluxe rifle pictured below is another historic example of a prized Winchester won during a shooting competition. The left side plate is inscribed in alternating scripts with “Prize won in the/FOREST & STREAM TOURNAMENT 1879/And presented to/L. V. SONE. by the N. Y. RIFLE CLUB/In appreciation of his services as Captain.”
The Winchester 73 movie opens with a title card declaring, “This is the story of the Winchester Rifle Model 1873 “The gun that won the West” To cowman, outlaw, peace officer or soldier, the Winchester 73 was a treasured possession.” The film’s assertion is largely accurate, as Oliver Winchester’s steel-framed Model 1873 was one of the bestselling guns of the era.
Lin McAdam (James Stewart) and his faithful sidekick ‘High-Spade’ (Millard Mitchell) ride into Dodge City searching for someone they suspect will be drawn into a shooting contest to commemorate the U.S. Centennial. The grand prize is a coveted Winchester 73 One of One Thousand rifle.
Lin decides to enter the shooting contest himself after admiring the engraved rifle in the window. The treasured Winchester has captured the attention of the entire town, including Marshall Wyatt Earp. “The finest gun in the world,” Earp states, holding up the prized 1 of 1000 before the competition and noting that every so often, a Winchester 1873 comes out “just perfect.”
The Shooting Contest
In the Winchester 73 movie, Lin and his rival, Dutch (Stephen McNally), enter the shooting competition that’s presided over by Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. Historically, Earp and Masterson did indeed serve as Dodge City law enforcement during the time period, and writer Stuart Lake was well acquainted with both men.
After tying in the first round, Lin and Dutch take turns landing shots on increasingly difficult targets, with Lin finally winning the contest by putting a bullet through the center of a stamp.
Director Anthony Mann said that James Stewart practiced so hard with the Winchester rifle that his knuckles bled. Stewart did most of the shooting himself, only relying on renowned marksman Herb Parson to perform the final trick shot.
Lin is presented with the Winchester 1 of 1000 for his marksmanship, but his victory his short-lived when Dutch jumps him and flees town with the remarkable rifle in tow. Winchester 73 then becomes a film about the rifle’s journey and how the desirable gun changes hands and impacts the colorful cast of Old West archetypes it encounters between Dodge City and Tascosa, Texas.
“Here you’ve got all these men… running around to get their hands on this goddam rifle, instead of going after a beautiful blonde like me.” – Actress Shelley Winters on ‘Winchester 73’
The American Centennial
In the Winchester 73 movie, the Dodge City shooting competition takes place on July 4, 1876, the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. True to the film, the American Centennial was one of the most culturally significant events of the 19th century and major gun manufacturers like Winchester used the celebration as an opportunity to display their latest offerings.
The 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition was a showcase for American ingenuity, and Winchester spared no expense. The intrepid gunmaker exhibited nearly 200 firearms representing about 50 different styles and unveiled a variety of new ammunition for their rifles. Representatives from the frontier states and territories painted the West as a land of opportunity for the resourceful pioneer, but word of Custer’s defeat at the Little Bighorn cast a shadow over the celebration.
Young Bull’s Attack
In Winchester 73, news of the Little Big Horn is starting to reach the far-flung corners of the frontier, and everyone is on edge, including a U.S. Cavalry camp that Lin and High-Spade encounter. Lin attributes the Lakota victory to their use of repeating rifles, commenting, “It seems they knew all about your Springfields being single-shot. They sent in the first wave light so it’d draw the fire! Then they sent in a heavy second wave before the Custer men had a chance to reload!”
Some Native Americans did use repeating rifles at the Little Bighorn, and settlers like Granville Stuart lamented that the 7th Cavalry weren’t equipped with Winchester 1873 rifles instead of the Springfield 1873 trapdoor carbine. In a letter to Winchester, Stewart wrote, “If poor Custer’s heroic band had been armed with these rifles, they would have covered the earth with dead Indians for 500 yards around.”
The shootout in Winchester 73 between the U.S. Cavalry and Young Bull’s band is likely inspired by the Wagon Box Fight, a historic battle that occurred 9 years earlier near Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming. Two of the guides in the Wagon Box Fight were equipped with Henry rifles and reportedly discharged over 100 rounds of .44 rimfire during the battle, helping fend off more than 1,000 Native Americans until reinforcements arrived. Crazy Horse participated in the battle and learned from his defeat, and by 1876 many Lakota Warriors were better armed than Custer’s men.
The Rifle that Won the West
Only 132 One of One Thousand Winchester 1873 Model rifles were ever produced, making for a truly unique and desirable firearm. After Lin wins the shooting competition, the prized Winchester changes hands eight times throughout the movie, and the spotlight always stays on the film’s true star, the Winchester 73 rifle.
Even the final scene in Winchester 73, a classic embrace between hero and leading lady, is punctuated by the presence of the famous firearm. As James Stewart clutches Shelley Winters in one arm, he gazes down at his treasured rifle as the camera zooms into the plate on the buttstock, the music swells to a crescendo, and the credits roll. Love can be fleeting, but a good Winchester is forever.
The Guns of Hollywood
In 1950, the Winchester 73 movie helped elevate its iconic namesake to one of the most sought-after collector guns in the world, and that trend continues as interest in historic arms collecting is hotter than ever at Rock Island Auction Company.
Pop culture and arms collecting have always gone hand in hand, so check out the weekly Rock Island Auction newsletter to receive new gun blogs and gun videos on some of your favorite Hollywood-featured gun models. From classic movies such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Quigley Down Under, Rambo, Lethal Weapon, and Die Hard to more recent productions like John Wick, Tomb Raider, Peaky Blinders, the Walking Dead, Bass Reeves, and Yellowstone and its prequels, we explore the most popular and intriguing guns of Hollywood.
