The recent western threads reminded me of a western that I saw in my youth. I haven’t been able to find it again. I think it was a John Wayne movie. In one scene a young man is holding an automatic handgun. The main character (I think JW) asks him if he can shoot. He says yes, but fails miserably with the handgun (almost having a firearms accident since it held 8 rounds instead of 6). The young man then says he meant he was good with his rifle and then pulls out a scoped rifle and proceeds to shoot a deer on the run.
That’s absolutely it. The son in question is played by Christopher Mitchum, Robert’s son. The Duke’s other son is played by his real-life progeny, Patrick Wayne.
Pretty solid movie. Not great, but solid John Wayne. Great catch phrase for the Aging Duke:
Pretty much everyone in the movie: I thought you were dead, Mr. McCandles
Also:
In that IMFDB entry, the photo is of a Bergmann M1896, so not sure why it is has “1911” there. There was a 1910/12, but it looked more like a C96 than the M1896.
I liked it. Even though I’ve ordered it, ISTR that the last time I saw it that scene did seem a bit contrived. But it’s the one scene I remember from it, and I did like it the first time I saw it; so it’s worth it to me.
I was probably 10 or 12 when I saw that scene. Since that’s about 3 decades ago, I can’t really say. However, as Johnny mentioned, it’s the one scene that I actually remember from the movie. It must have stuck with me for a reason.
It should be coming from Netflix before long so I can see it again.
I consider films about Pancho Villa to be Westerns. Horses, deserts, big hats, people getting shot. And airplanes were used then. Most people consider the ‘Old West’ to have lasted until the late-19th Century. Many people will go to the end of the '90s, and I recall reading several mentions of the Old West lasting until Nineteen-Oh-Something. Some would say that the Old West period ended when Arizona became a state in 1912, and others say it lasted until the end of the Mexican Revolution in 1920.
So, yeah. Early-1900s count.
EDIT: The Wild Bunch, a film mentioned by several to be one of the best Western films, takes place in 1913.