The Gunfighter (1950) review

Big, bad Jimmy Ringo (Gregory Peck) - baddest man in the whole damn Southwest - at first tries to get a drink at a bar, is challenged by cocksure Eddie (Richard Jaeckel), kills him, flees to the town of Cayenne where he tries to reconnect with his former lover Peggy (Helen Westcott) - with whom he shares a son - and has to dodge constant threats (including Eddie's three brothers).  It's odd for an early Western to be this pessimistic and full of worry: Peck drags himself through every scene looking like he's about to face Death imminently (because he is), while trying to come up with a final effort to redeem himself and continue on as a family man, but he also knows it's a long shot.  Interestingly enough, I think it can be read as a moral tale about the burden of fame: everyone wants a piece of you, there's no longer a sense of privacy, and there is always someone wanting to do you in to become a celebrity him/herself.  Ringo's last words are chilling (when you realize what he's inferring): "Just wait."