Death of a Gunfighter

by Lewis B. Patten

Frank Patch had outlived his usefulness to the town of Cottonwood Springs and the townspeople were determined to get rid of him--one way of the another.

But Patch had been their sheriff for twenty years. He had fought, bled and killed to turn a lawless cattle town into a peaceful community and being sheriff was the only life he knew.

Then Luke Mills, a harmless drunk, tried to gun Patch down?

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

297 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

aka Lewis Ford, Len Leighton, Joseph Wayne (with Wayne D. Overholser)

Lewis Byford Patten was a prolific author of American Western Novels, born in Denver, Colorado. Often published under the names Lewis Ford, Len Leighto and, Joseph Wayne.

Reviews

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good western, the story of a sheriff who is asked to quit, but he doesn't want to leave. He was promised the job for as long as he wants. Gun battles ensue. This was made into a movie starring Richard Widmark & Lena Horne. Recommended to western fans.

[Edward Creter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bigtime sherriff stands for old-fashioned values, which is why no one in town wants him as Sherriff. But he'll hold on to his place anyway he can against overwhelming odds. Good western in the tradition of films like High Noon.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gunfighting book, which is one of my favorite kinds of westerns.

[Kai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patten is one of my favorite authors, one who influenced my own western noir style. I love all of his books, but this book is one of my favorite of favorites!

[Raleighhunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Western that talks about the end of the era. Pure greatness, if you like Westerns.

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I mentioned a few reviews ago (Warlock by Oakley Hall), this will be the second Western reviewed here by me. Warlock brought this one to mind, a book I last read (and saw the movie based on it) in 1969 – not long after they both were released. Both books deal with the same theme, when the legend of the wild, lawless West was struggling to be reborn into the reality of a more “civilized” Middle America. Both towns, Warlock and Cottonwood Springs, try to breach this rampart by attempting to force out their gunslinging marshals in order to allow their towns to clean up and modernize. And both works are allegories of the times, politics, and social issues of when they were written (early 1950s for Warlock; late 1960s for D.O.G.). My memory was justified, this is a great, short work that not so subtly examines some disturbing aspects of being human, of being American. A quote of particular relevance to today’s America: “There ought to be ways of enforcing the law without shooting people in the street.” Two interesting trivia bits: 1) Richard Widmark plays one of the leads in both film versions – the sheriff’s deputy in Warlock, the marshal in D.O.G.; 2) the film version of D.O.G. was the film for which the director designation “Alan Smithee” was first invented.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things came to a head in the town of Cottonwood springs when Marshal Frank Patch killed Luke Mills. Mills was a drunk, but when that challenging voice yelled out of the dark alley and a couple of shots followed, instinct took over and a man was dead.

The town had been trying to get Patch to quit for a few years now. They thought it was time for a uniformed police force. He was an anachronism these days. But Patch always refused. When he'd taken the job, it was a wild town and his type was needed.

But that was twenty years ago. The shots from Mills were the first fired Patch's way in four years.

The town was afraid of Patch. He had a manner about him. Take his girl friend. In the last five yers, he'd never hit her, threatened her, looked crosswise at her, or raised his voice to her. Yet she was afraid of him.

Patch got away with refusing to quit because, after twenty years, he knew stuff about the important people in town, things they wouldn't want advertised. Threats to not pay didn't work either. His answer was he had money put away and it didn't cost him much to live.

But something had to be done. Businesses had passed on locating in town when they saw the big gunfighter type riding through town.. They thought it was still rough. Growth had stagnated.

Patch had his own insecurities as well. The big, gruff man that frightened everybody was afraid himself. What would he do if he wasn't Marshal. He knew nothing else.

So the town decided what they were going to do.

The novel was made into a film starring Richard Widmark as Patch and Lena Horne as his girl friend.

[Heath Lowrance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one came highly recommended by Cullen Gallagher and Mike Dennis. It took a while to track down a copy, but it was worth it. Sheriff Frank Patch has been protecting the town of Cottonwood Springs for twenty years, so when the town decides they want him gone, Patch steadfastly refuses to step down. Turns out, Patch has the goods on many of them, and they live in fear that he’ll expose them. What follows is an ever-escalating series of violent encounters as the once-respectable townsfolk take matters into their own hands, with disastrous results. The sense of doom grows stronger and stronger with every page, as things spiral out of control, and the possibility of things ever being right again recedes farther and farther. There’s a lot of dead bodies by the time it’s over, but more importantly, there’s a lot of shattered lives. Death of a Gunfighter is a seriously hardboiled Western.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death of a Gunfighter (1968) Thanks to a mediocre but well known film adaptation, this may be Lewis B. Patten’s best known western novel, and it’s quite good. Frank Patch is the town marshall who cleaned up this cowtown twenty years ago, when it was a cowtown, and refuses to step down now that the more reputable citizens want him out. I like this novel because it isn’t afraid of both sides of the controversy and doesn’t shy away from moral ambiguities. As a reader I understood that Frank really should let go, but he is also portrayed with a great deal of dignity, and the town manages to destroy itself along with Frank. The ending is very violent and realistic, though the book’s ambiguities are a bit weakened by the sermons that a couple characters deliver after Frank is shot down like a dirty dog. 12/19/12 W195