A corrupt and bigoted town hires Jules Gaspard d'Estaing (Yul Brynner), a nattily-dressed gunfighter, to kill Matt Weaver (George Segal), a bitter Confederate Army veteran who recently returned to find his home confiscated and sold by town-boss Sam Brewster (Pat Hingle). Needless to say, the cure turns out to be worse than the disease (a premise similar to that in Clint Eastwood's superior 'High Palins Drifter' (1973)). The film wears its heart on its sleeve as the churlish townies depreciate the local Mexican population, cash in on the plight of poor war-widows, can't be bothered to correctly pronounce d'Estaing's name, etc. Despite being on the losing side of the Civil War, Weaver is portrayed as a good man (in contrast to the town's risible Yankees) and ends up in an awkward understanding with d'Estaing, who reveals himself to be the son of a slave woman (Brynner's complexion seems surprisingly dark and the Russian-American actor may be in partial 'blackface' to better fit his backstory). While the film's social goals are laudable, as entertainment, it isn't very good. Brynner's character (impeccably dressed, erudite, playing multiple musical instruments, speaking several languages) seems contrived and artificial, and, despite the obligatory display of gunmanship, really doesn't come off as very menacing. His and Weaver's motivations are presumably complex and conflicted but I found the dialogue hard to follow, and perhaps for that reason, may have missed the point of some key scenes (such as d'Estaing's endless 'vandalism' spree, presumably representing his hatred for the town). Segal is fine as the Reb but the female lead Janice Rule (as Ruth Adams, a seemingly one-person love triangle) doesn't add much to the story. The score (by David Raksin), which starts off sounding like a knock-off of Elmer Bernstein and later includes a harpsicord (?) that sounds like something out of 'The Addams Family' (1964), was often intrusive or out-of-place. The film had some odd flourishes (such as the 'Greek chorus' of crippled Union vets who comment on events) and the ending, while somewhat unexpected, was undercut by a mawkish 'can't we all get along' final scene. All in all, the film tries too hard to be a morality play and relies too much on Brynner's overdone and hackneyed 'man in black' character to carry the story.
Review of Invitation to a Gunfighter
