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For a western that's all about settling scores...


Bat Masterson never found out who shot his brother. Tying up this loose end would have made the story more solid and satisfying.

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Take another look. I think it's pretty clearly Dave who shoots his brother. Although much of the shooting scene is darkly lit, it sure looks like Dave. Plus, Dave has a motive to kill Bat's brother because Bat killed his brother. In the shooting scene, the shooter takes very careful aim and shoots at Ed, not at Bat. At the time, Regan's thugs are more interested in shutting Bat down than killing Ed. The thugs don't seem to be working with the guy who shot Ed. So Bat makes a mistake in attributing Ed's death to Regan.

Near the end, Dave tells Lily that he killed Ed. Then after Bat rescues Lily, she tells him what Dave said. Bat then says that it doesn't matter.

I think the point of the movie is that Bat learns that you can settle scores without killing the other person.

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