Rent The Shootist (1976)
3.7 of 5 from 94 ratings
1h 35min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Afflicted with a terminal illness, John Bernard Books (John Wayne), the last of the legendary gunfighters, quietly returns to Carson City for medical attention from his old friend Dr. Hostetler (James Stewart). Aware that his days are numbered, the troubled man seeks solace and peace in a boardinghouse run by a widow (Lauren Bacall) and her son (Ron Howard). However, it is not Books' fate to die in peace, as he becomes embroiled in one last valiant battle.
- Actors:
- John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart, Richard Boone, Hugh O'Brian, Bill McKinney, Harry Morgan, John Carradine, Sheree North, Rick Lenz, Scatman Crothers, Gregg Palmer, Alfred Dennis, Dick Winslow, Melody Thomas Scott, Kathleen O'Malley, Johnny Crawford, Chuck Dawson, Duke Fishman
- Directors:
- Don Siegel
- Producers:
- M.J. Frankovich, William Self
- Writers:
- Glendon Swarthout, Miles Hood Swarthout, Scott Hale
- Others:
- Robert F. Boyle, Arthur Jeph Parker
- Studio:
- Paramount
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Romance
- Collections:
- 21 Reasons to Love, 21 Reasons to Love..Modern Westerns, A Brief History of Old Age on Screen: Part 1, Cinema Paradiso's 2024 Centenary Club: Part 3, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Ron Howard, Top 10 Best Picture Follow-Ups, Top 10 Guest Houses On Film, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 18/08/2025
- Run Time:
- 100 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Howard S. Berger
- The Last Day, a visual essay by film critic David Cairns
- A Man-Making Moment, an interview with Western author C. Courtney Joyner
- Laments of the West, an appreciation of Elmer Bernstein's score by film historian and composer Neil Brand
- Contemplating John Wayne: The Death of a Cowboy, a visual essay by filmmaker and critic Scout Tafoya
- The Shootist: The Legend Lives On, archival featurette
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
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Reviews (2) of The Shootist
Wonderful - The Shootist review by sb
FILM & REVIEW Don Siegel’s wonderful eligiac Western has Wayne as JB Books an elderly gunfighter and sometime lawman who arrives in a small prosperous town. He calls on his old friend and doctor Jimmy Stewart who confirms his worst fears - he has terminal cancer with only weeks to live. Stewart when pushed tells him how bad it will get in the end and recommends he rent a room from local widow Mrs Rogers (Bacall) who lives with her teenage son (Ron Howard). He pretendsto be someone else but is soon find out and being a Christian soul she wants him out due to the amount of men he has killed. He explains he has no else to go in the time he has left so an uneasy truce is set. In the meantime his name has got about and several people - either to settle old scores or make a name for themselves fancy their chances against him. There is a key scene early on when Stewart indicates Books end may lie in his own hands so the whole film is predicated on him leaving this life the way he lived it. Wayne brings a superb quiet dignity to the role and the eligiac quality is enhanced with it being his last film as he too would die of cancer within 2 years. Bacall is also very good eventually coming round the man for all his faults. It’s set in 1901 so it’s as much about the passing of the Old West as much as Books own fate - he is a man who did what he had to do and seeks neither redemption from The Lord or anyone else. It’s a superb final chapter in his career - 5/5
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Revisionist Western & A Fitting Last Film For John Wayne - The Shootist review by GI
John Wayne's last film and a fitting epilogue to his screen career. In a way it's tragedy and a poignant tale of the end of a misunderstood life. Wayne plays J.B. Books, an ailing man, who has lived a full life as a former lawman and gunfighter, but now has a reputation as a killer due to exaggerated stories about his past. He arrives in Carson City, Nebraska in the winter of 1901 to see an old doctor friend (James Stewart) and to seek his medical advice. Diagnosed with terminal cancer Books decides to have his final days in the city at the lodging house of Mrs Rogers (Lauren Bacall) where he befriends her impressionable son, Gillom (Ron Howard). But his presence in the city and news of his impending death attracts a host of people intent on benefiting from his last days including some who want the glory of killing him. But Books decides his death will be how he wants it to be. The film opens with scenes from some of Wayne's past westerns and although this was never intended to be his last film it has become almost a tribute to him. The centre of the story is his relationship with Mrs Rogers where he finds solace in his past. There is violence, indeed the climax is a gunfight but mostly this a melancholy story of a misjudged man who has lived on the borders of civilisation which has now caught up with him. It's a fine performance from Wayne, a moving and interesting film and has some great support actors such as Richard Boone, Bill McKinney and Hugh O'Brien and Harry Morgan. An impressive film from director Don Siegal and one where Wayne deserved more recognition as he is quite magnificent here.
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