There’s a surprisingly humorous reason behind the box office disappointment of The Gunfighter, a forgotten Gregory Peck Western that once promised to be a major hit. Out of all the things that could go wrong with a movie, it’s the lead actor’s mustache that’s recieved the brunt of the blame.
Directed by Henry King, The Gunfighter was a high-profile, big-budget Western at the time of its release, as evidenced by 20th Century Fox’s early efforts to court John Wayne. It did well critically, and even earned an Oscar nomination. Its box office revenue, on the other hand, left much to be desired. It made less than $2 million, which was far short of the studio’s expectations.
Given its 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, its quality clearly wasn’t the problem, nor was the cast, with Gregory Peck being a rising star at the time. Instead, it would seem – at least in the minds of the producers – that the underlying issue was something that would otherwise be thought of as insignificant.
Gregory Peck’s Mustache Was Blamed For The Gunfighter’s Lack Of Success
Gregory Peck Normally Had A Clean-Shaven Look
To ensure that their film was a historically accurate depiction of the people that lived in the time period, Gregory Peck decided to grow a handlebar mustache. 20th Century Fox executive Spyros Skouras was on set one day and was aghast when he saw it, with Peck recalling Skouras calling it a “ugly-looking walrus mustache, ” [via Entertainment Weekly].
Arguing that Peck was “a Sєx symbol,” Skouras insisted on them redoing his scenes once the actor shaved, but they were already two weeks into the shoot. Due to the cost of reshooting, it was decided that Peck would keep the mustache, though Skouras never really warmed up to the idea. As Peck said, they were able to move ahead with their “authenticity.”
Lead actors having mustaches onscreen was not uncommon in 1950, but it’s important to point out this was a thick, handlebar mustache, nothing like the more fashionable, thin mustaches worn by Hollywood stars such as Errol Flynn and Clark Gable at the time.
The Gunfighter failing to produce the results they had hoped for at the box office seemingly reinforced Skouras’ opinion of Gregory Peck’s mustache. Apparently, Skouras was convinced the actor’s look in the movie discouraged people from seeing it. Peck said he was reminded of this by Skouras every time they met since, with Skouras saying to him, “God**** mustache – cost me millions.”
The Gunfighter Is One Of Gregory Peck’s Best Movies
The Gunfighter Features A Great Gregory Peck Performance
Whether the mustache actually inhibited The Gunfighter’s success or not, it certainly didn’t detract from the quality of the film itself. Gregory Peck delivered a great performance as Jimmy Ringo, a legendary outlaw whose reputation makes him a target for glory-seeking cowboys.
Jimmy Ringo’s efforts to escape his past and deal with the consequences of being the fastest gun in the West create the framework for a truly great Western narrative in The Gunslinger. The basic concept is an old trope of the Western genre, but the movie’s execution of the story is anything but ordinary.
Unlike many Westerns of its time, The Gunfighter isn’t a film where the heroic gunslinger defeats the villain, and rides off into the sunset with his love interest to build a new life. The movie doesn’t try to shoehorn a happy ending into its story, and instead offers one that’s true to the tragic themes that underscore Jimmy Ringo’s entire arc.
All things considered, The Gunfighter is a solid effort from Gregory Peck, and easily one of the best Westerns he made in his career, along with The Big Country. It’s a shame that The Gunfighter never got the attention it deserved, and if there’s any truth to Sourkas’ theory about what went wrong with the film, then perhaps the effort to be authentic wasn’t the good idea it seemed to be.
