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Gun Crazy caused barely a ripple in public consciousness when it hit movie screens in 1950. Yet over time it would prove to be the most innovative and provocative motion picture of its era—a simple genre film, but packed with so much cinematic bravura and timeless symbolism, its power has spanned decades, crossed oceans, and influenced countless filmmakers.

It's no stretch to declare Gun Crazy one of the essential American films—as well as a cornerstone of the auteur theory that's dominated cinema discourse since the 1960s. Its larger-than-life reputation among cinephiles has mainly been based on the recollections—also larger-than-life—of its director, Joseph H. Lewis, whose intriguing yet surprisingly short career never again reached the level of this bona-fide classic.

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