Stewart chose Mann to direct, and the film gave him the idea of redefining his screen persona through the Western genre. In the film, Stewart is a tough, vengeful sharpshooter, the winner of a prized rifle which is stolen and passes through many hands, until the showdown between him and his brother. "Winchester '73" became a box-office success upon its summer release and earned Stewart rave reviews. He also starred in another successful Western that summer, "Broken Arrow" (1950), which featured him as an ex-soldier and Native American agent making peace with the Apache.