Lawman | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

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11 Reviews

63%

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1,000+ Ratings

During a drunken spree in the small Wild West town of Bannock, one of a half-dozen workers from a nearby ranch accidentally shoots an innocent man. Bannock's marshal, a righteous man named Jered Maddox (Burt Lancaster), comes to the larger town of Sabbath bearing the dead body of one of the revelers and demands the surrender of the remaining five from sheriff Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan) and ranch owner Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb), starting a confrontation that threatens to engulf them all.

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Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

Potent stuff.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 27, 2021

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

What we're left with is a Western with a lot of sides but no center.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... it’s not so much cynical as sorrowful in its clash of ideals, and never less than clear-eyed in the presentation of harsh frontier realities.

Apr 6, 2024

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

All of the central characters are refreshingly complex -- few can be strictly defined as "good" or "bad."

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 3, 2021

Full Review

John Mahoney

Los Angeles Free Press

For the budget and the hoopla and the waste, the technical components of the film are routine, the acting as good as top pros can deliver with an ordinary script and a hypothyroid director.

Jan 9, 2020

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Almost presages Unforgiven's elegiac take on the genre's violent implications, acknowledging that just because someone wears a badge doesn't mean they're the hero.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 4, 2019

Full Review

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Audience Reviews

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Danny N I liked it. What a cast ! Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/31/23 Full Review Michelle B Brilliant film. Worth watching High Plains Drifter afterwards. Great cast. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/18/22 Full Review Olivia Y Very, very underrated. The acting is superb, probably what you'd expect from a great cast I guess. It doesn't follow the usual glorified and false old west portrayed in all westerns of that time. It's gritty, grim and unrelenting in its depiction of the emotional frailties of men. The characters all have differing faults, which lead them helplessly to the climactic bloody and violent ending. Everyone loses because of egos and misplaced loyalty. Lancaster shows us a Terminator of the west. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Too preachy. Not typical of Michael Winner..... too much 'tell' and not enough 'show'. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Roughly defined, the adult Western has more substance than good guys vs. bad guys and shootouts. Comedian Milton Berle's definition: 'An adult Western is where the hero still kisses his horse at the end, only now he worries about it.Dec 12, 1996Many of the men wear bowler hats which is historically accurate. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review deke p BURT! & GREAT CAST! Serious Western town sheriff alone vs town bad guys. Cowardly townfolk. All the cliches, but still xlnt.Saw on tv 9.23.2021 Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Michael Winner Director Burt Lancaster Bannock Marshal Jared Maddox Robert Ryan Sabbath Marshal Cotton Ryan Lee J. Cobb Vincent Bronson Sheree North Laura Shelby Joseph Wiseman Lucas

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Lawman (1971)

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Synopsis During a drunken spree in the small Wild West town of Bannock, one of a half-dozen workers from a nearby ranch accidentally shoots an innocent man. Bannock's marshal, a righteous man named Jered Maddox (Burt Lancaster), comes to the larger town of Sabbath bearing the dead body of one of the revelers and demands the surrender of the remaining five from sheriff Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan) and ranch owner Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb), starting a confrontation that threatens to engulf them all.

Director: Michael Winner
Producer: Michael Winner
Screenwriter: Gerald Wilson
Production Co: Scimitar Productions
Rating: R (Violent Content)
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 38m