western, The Naked Spur (1953), as a grizzled old prospector. Jay C. Flippen appeared as cavalry sergeant Wilkes. He would also appear in the second Stewart-Mann Western, Bend of the River (1952), along with Rock Hudson, who appears in Winchester '73 as a Native American. The Stewart and Mann collaboration established a new persona for Stewart, more violent and disillusioned than ever before, but still likable. Locations Winchester '73 was filmed at: Mescal, Arizona, US Old Tucson, 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, US Backlot, Universal Studios, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, US Reception As part of the publicity campaign around the release of the film, Universal Pictures sponsored a contest, by placing magazine ads, to find some of the rare remaining "One of One Thousand" Model 1873 Winchester rifles. This resulted in many previously unknown original rifles being brought into the spotlight and drew public interest to the field of antique gun collecting. The winner of the contest received a new Winchester Model 1894 rifle since the Model 1873 was out of production at that time. The film was a financial success, turning a significant profit. It has gained a reputation as a classic of the Western genre since and durably helped to redefine the public perception of James Stewart. Contemporary critics are enthusiastic. Writing for the Telegraph, Martin Chilton gave the movie 5 stars and described the film as "the first in a series of Western masterpieces". In Empire, William Thomas calls the film "the marvellously-scripted story of a man and a gun". He also awarded 5 stars. The film holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 27 reviews, with an average of 8.5/10. Honors The film received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Written American Western. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Remake Winchester '73 was remade as a made-for-TV film in 1967 featuring Tom Tryon, John Saxon, Dan Duryea, John Drew Barrymore, Joan Blondell, John Dehner and Paul Fix. The remake was directed by Herschel Daugherty with cinematography by Bud Thackery. See also Gun (TV series) The King's Ankus, a tale in Rudyard Kipling's The Second Jungle Book that follows a valuable object as it causes murderous acts. References External links (1950 film) (1967 TV movie) Winchester '73 film stills