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It's kind of jarring watching a movie that exhibits no trace of self-consciousness. Somewhere during the past 30 years moviemakers have become embarrassed to really commit to their project. These days in Hollywood, everybody's too hip for the room. So when a movie comes along where the good guys are good, and the bad guys are bad, and the ladies are pretty much arm candy � well, I'm not saying I endorse it, but dammit, it's refreshing to encounter anybody who truly believes anything these days in their art form.
And let's face it, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas - wow, what a cast. Even Dennis Hopper, who in real life was never this young, portrays a troubled young firebrand bent on self-destruction.
This movie has everything going for it but its 1957 release date. The same sense of earnest conviction that makes Gunfight so endearing, also tends to make the story a little predictable, notwithstanding the universal awareness of the subject matter. Ya just know the good guys are gonna win, it's never really in doubt.
Still, this is one of the few watchable pre-'60s movies around, not as dated as nearly all its peers, and a career landmark for two legendary leading men.