Winchester '73

The Lonesome Dove Cinema Club opens with Winchester '73, a 1950 film about a prized Winchester rifle that changes hands through a series of violent encounters, driving protagonist Lin McAdam (James Stewart) on a quest for revenge against his murderous, estranged brother, Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally). The film follows the rifle as it's won, stolen, traded, and fought over, passing from outlaws to Native Americans, symbolizing the cycle of violence in the Old West as Stewart's anti-hero pursues his nemesis.