The Shootist

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The Shootist

PG

1976

1h 39m

Western

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

J.B. Books (John Wayne, in his final film role) is an aging gunfighter diagnosed with cancer who comes to Nevada at the turn of the 20th century. Renting a room from widowed Bond Rogers (Lauren Bacall) and her son Gillom (Ron Howard), Books is confronted by several people of questionable motives, including a man seeking to avenge his brother's death and a few who are looking to profit from Books' notoriety. Not wanting to die a quiet, painful death, Books devises a plan to go out with a bang.

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Critics Consensus

Simple in story while sophisticated in texture, The Shootist is a fittingly elegiac swan song for one of Hollywood's most iconic stars.

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Clayton Dillard

Slant Magazine

04/11/2024

Don Siegel’s 1976 western The Shootist stars John Wayne in his final film appearance, though it’s perhaps just as notable for the muted nature of its regard for the pathology of violence.

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Variety Staff

Variety

03/26/2009

Simply beautiful, and beautifully simple.

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Derek Adams

Time Out

02/09/2006

A subtle, touching valedictory tribute to both Wayne and the Western in general.

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Emilie Black

Cinema Crazed

04/30/2024

3.5/5

The Shootist is a solid Western with some deeper themes to its center, making the connection between the lead character and the lead actor strong given that the film is the last John Wayne ever did.

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Richard Corliss

New Times (magazine)

06/22/2022

Wayne is still both kinds of moving -- it’s the movie that’s sclerotic.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

05/30/2021

3.5/4

An elegiac Western for Wayne.

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David L

@RT98148026 Dec 28

The best movie John Wayne ever made.

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James B.

@JamesBass Dec 28

Not only the finest John Wayne western, but one of the greatest westerns ever made. It is not a grand spectacle; it could just as easily be performed on a stage. Instead, it is an intimate character study of a man confronting profound loneliness, burdened by a past too violent and legendary to release him—no matter how desperately he wishes to leave it behind. The Shootist endures because it strips the western to its moral and emotional core, making Wayne’s final performance both restrained and devastating.

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John S.

@RT59015782 Dec 17

That was that no other way to end a man and an era.

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M.T. F

@RT70262545 Nov 1

No other actor had a better swan song. John Wayne went out with the perfect film and one of his best performances. And he had an outstanding cast working with him. Don Siegel's direction is flawless and Elmer Bernstein's score comes across as a valentine to Wayne, whom he'd worked with several times. Truly a magnificent film, and one to show a person who states Wayne wasn't much of an actor.

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Aug 13

Awhile since I’ve seen a Western. This is a gunslinger going out on his own terms as the Wild West came to an end. Wayne is better than usual in this one and it’s a decent enough tale. Watched on DVD.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 20

Success in 1 hour and 39 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Synopsis

J.B. Books (John Wayne, in his final film role) is an aging gunfighter diagnosed with cancer who comes to Nevada at the turn of the 20th century. Renting a room from widowed Bond Rogers (Lauren Bacall) and her son Gillom (Ron Howard), Books is confronted by several people of questionable motives, including a man seeking to avenge his brother's death and a few who are looking to profit from Books' notoriety. Not wanting to die a quiet, painful death, Books devises a plan to go out with a bang.

Director: Don Siegel
Producer: M.J. Frankovich, William Self
Screenwriter: Glendon Swarthout, Scott Hale, Miles Hood Swarthout
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Dino De Laurentiis Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 11, 1976, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2011
Runtime: 1h 39m