Warlock
A hired gunfighter, a reformed outlaw, and a volatile loyalist collide over who has the right to impose order on a lawless frontier town.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- melancholic
- gripping
- psychologically tense
- classic western night
- cinephile viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Warlock as a gripping, mature, psychologically layered western distinguished by strong performances and steadily escalating action.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Warlock's townspeople hire Clay Blaisedell as an unofficial marshal after the deputy is driven out, creating conflict between hired authority and formal law.
Clay Blaisedell and Tom Morgan share an unusually intense, emotionally charged bond that later critics have read as homoerotic.
Johnny Gannon leaves Abe McQuown's gang and accepts the deputy sheriff role while his brother remains involved with the gang.
Contemporary criticism highlighted the film's colorful, noisy presentation and successive shooting climaxes in the mining town setting.
Films like Warlock, and why
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
adult western treatment of law, violence, and moral ambiguity in a frontier community
Man of the West
psychological western focused on professional gunfighters, loyalty, and tragic violence
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
frontier law-and-order conflict shaped by competing loyalties and morally compromised gunmen
The Left Handed Gun
revisionist-leaning western drama examining violence, reputation, and uneasy male bonds
Movie Details
- Director
- Edward Dmytryk
- Release Date
- 1959-05-15
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (177)
Cast
- Richard Widmark
- Henry Fonda
- Anthony Quinn
- Dorothy Malone
- Dolores Michaels
- Wallace Ford
- Tom Drake
- Richard Arlen
- DeForest Kelley
- Regis Toomey
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- FlixFling
- Rent
- FlixFling
- Buy
- FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Warlock about?
- A hired gunfighter, a reformed outlaw, and a volatile loyalist collide over who has the right to impose order on a lawless frontier town.
- What is Warlock like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Warlock as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Warlock violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Warlock as moderate.
- What did critics think of Warlock?
- Critics broadly regard Warlock as a gripping, mature, psychologically layered western distinguished by strong performances and steadily escalating action.
- Which films are like Warlock?
- Films with a similar feel include The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Man of the West, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and The Left Handed Gun.
- How long is Warlock?
- Warlock runs 122 minutes.
- Where can I watch Warlock?
- In United States, Warlock streams on FlixFling.
