It is perhaps to the unfortunate detriment of this film that it was directed by Michael Winner. I say this not as a criticism of Michael Winner but to raise a point about legacy and bias: forever associated with the 'Death Wish' films, much of his work, even that which pre-dates 'Death Wish' is viewed through 'Death Wish' bias. 'Lawman' can unfairly be generalized as exploitative and for reveling in violence. I hope that for a minute we might view 'Lawman' without the effect of 'Death Wish' on its legacy and I intend to argue that rather than being a poorly directed film with 1970's ethos and cynicism, it is rather a very compelling tragedy and a neglected little gem. To do this, we must look at the conclusion of the film which has been responsible for a lot of the film's cheap reputation.
Burt Lancaster's lawman is devoted to a very strict code of behavior. The code gives him rules to live by and behave by. Involved in a shootout at the end of the film, he murders an unarmed and fleeing J.D. Cannon. This scene, I believe, is misunderstood and that misunderstanding eliminates sympathy for the Lancaster character. I believe that shooting was not something imposed and tacked on to make a grim modern point about the value of life, Vietnam War, etc. The shooting occurs because he TRIED to break his own rules. I believe the film took those beliefs to their logical, cold and merciless conclusion. Think of the scene in the homestead where Sheree North starts asking him about old mutual friends. The implication is that these men were all lawmen and Lancaster's news about them is that those former lawmen are "dead, dead, dead, will never walk again, dead" etc. These are men who showed 'weakness' and walked away from a code which allowed them to survive. This scene is of crucial importance for what will happen at the end of the film. Stray from the code and die. Live by the code and be alone.
In the final shootout, Lancaster sincerely wants to abandon what he has belatedly realized to be an ultimately lonely and empty life. Events during the film have convinced him that, yes, his code will allow him to live forever, but he looks at the way he is reviled by the townspeople, the widows of men he has killed, and by a woman who might have loved him in a different life. Lee J Cobb and Robert Ryan play characters who understand that the old way of doing things have passed by. The tragedy of the Lancaster character is that he doesn't realize he's a relic of a time gone by until it is too late. I found 'Lawman' terrifically tragic and poignant for this reason.
Back to the shootout, he tries to walk away but as soon as the gun play begins (he doesn't initiate) Lancaster understands the error he has made; compassion for a lawman is weakness. Weakness is hesitation and uncertainty. Uncertainty and hesitation are death. The law, according to his code, is black and white with no room for flexibility. It is not his job to decide if the men are innocent or guilty of the old man's murder. It IS his job to bring them in for trial. He doesn't even care if they did it or not and even cynically alludes to this when he says that the circuit judge is easily bought -- especially with the money that a man like Cobb would have. By hesitating and trying to walk away from his code and into a new life with Sheree North, he strays from what has kept him alive.
Why does he kill J.D.Cannon? The code demands strict adherence to duty with no grey areas -- black and white only. The men on the street are loose ends. Cannon is used dramatically to show the tragedy of the Lancaster character. Lancaster was willing to allow loose ends when he tries to leave town and is nearly killed for it. He won't make that mistake again because empty as life by the code may be, it is still life and Lancaster remarks several times during the film that there are very few things worth dying for. Perhaps being a man with experience in taking so much life has given him a certain insight into placing greater value on his own. Killing Cannon kills what life there could have been for himself. It is an act that eliminates what sympathy the film's audience would have had for him but it is an act which is completely true to the character. I should add that while one tenet of his code was never to shoot before the other man makes a move, it is this tragic failure to follow his code for a second time which destroys all hope of a life outside of the one he has designed for himself. Leaving no loose ends ties up everything including any possibility he had for escaping into something new.
Burt Lancaster's lawman is devoted to a very strict code of behavior. The code gives him rules to live by and behave by. Involved in a shootout at the end of the film, he murders an unarmed and fleeing J.D. Cannon. This scene, I believe, is misunderstood and that misunderstanding eliminates sympathy for the Lancaster character. I believe that shooting was not something imposed and tacked on to make a grim modern point about the value of life, Vietnam War, etc. The shooting occurs because he TRIED to break his own rules. I believe the film took those beliefs to their logical, cold and merciless conclusion. Think of the scene in the homestead where Sheree North starts asking him about old mutual friends. The implication is that these men were all lawmen and Lancaster's news about them is that those former lawmen are "dead, dead, dead, will never walk again, dead" etc. These are men who showed 'weakness' and walked away from a code which allowed them to survive. This scene is of crucial importance for what will happen at the end of the film. Stray from the code and die. Live by the code and be alone.
In the final shootout, Lancaster sincerely wants to abandon what he has belatedly realized to be an ultimately lonely and empty life. Events during the film have convinced him that, yes, his code will allow him to live forever, but he looks at the way he is reviled by the townspeople, the widows of men he has killed, and by a woman who might have loved him in a different life. Lee J Cobb and Robert Ryan play characters who understand that the old way of doing things have passed by. The tragedy of the Lancaster character is that he doesn't realize he's a relic of a time gone by until it is too late. I found 'Lawman' terrifically tragic and poignant for this reason.
Back to the shootout, he tries to walk away but as soon as the gun play begins (he doesn't initiate) Lancaster understands the error he has made; compassion for a lawman is weakness. Weakness is hesitation and uncertainty. Uncertainty and hesitation are death. The law, according to his code, is black and white with no room for flexibility. It is not his job to decide if the men are innocent or guilty of the old man's murder. It IS his job to bring them in for trial. He doesn't even care if they did it or not and even cynically alludes to this when he says that the circuit judge is easily bought -- especially with the money that a man like Cobb would have. By hesitating and trying to walk away from his code and into a new life with Sheree North, he strays from what has kept him alive.
Why does he kill J.D.Cannon? The code demands strict adherence to duty with no grey areas -- black and white only. The men on the street are loose ends. Cannon is used dramatically to show the tragedy of the Lancaster character. Lancaster was willing to allow loose ends when he tries to leave town and is nearly killed for it. He won't make that mistake again because empty as life by the code may be, it is still life and Lancaster remarks several times during the film that there are very few things worth dying for. Perhaps being a man with experience in taking so much life has given him a certain insight into placing greater value on his own. Killing Cannon kills what life there could have been for himself. It is an act that eliminates what sympathy the film's audience would have had for him but it is an act which is completely true to the character. I should add that while one tenet of his code was never to shoot before the other man makes a move, it is this tragic failure to follow his code for a second time which destroys all hope of a life outside of the one he has designed for himself. Leaving no loose ends ties up everything including any possibility he had for escaping into something new.