A dishonest mayor and powerful criminal dominate a small western town. But when the town's sheriff dies under mysterious circumstances, Tom Destry, son of a famed gunman, is called in to put... Read allA dishonest mayor and powerful criminal dominate a small western town. But when the town's sheriff dies under mysterious circumstances, Tom Destry, son of a famed gunman, is called in to put an end to the corruption.A dishonest mayor and powerful criminal dominate a small western town. But when the town's sheriff dies under mysterious circumstances, Tom Destry, son of a famed gunman, is called in to put an end to the corruption.
- Curly
- (as George Wallace)
- Professor
- (as Mitchell Lawrence)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector George Marshall's remake of his own film Destry Rides Again (1939) which starred James Stewart.
- GoofsWhen Tom Destry shows off his shooting skills at the saloon, he shoots off all the silver ornaments located at the tips of the star from the money wheel (56:41). However, at the final shoot-out scene in the saloon, the money wheel seems to have at least some of the silver ornaments still intact.
- Quotes
Tom Destry: You know, I don't hold too much for first impressions. The way I figure it, the last impression is important.
- ConnectionsFollowed by Destry (1964)
- SoundtracksBang! Bang!
Words & Music by Frederick Herbert and Arnold Schwarzwald (as Arnold Hughes)
Performed by Mari Blanchard (uncredited)
When the sheriff of a small frontier town is shot and killed in mysterious circumstances, mob boss Decker (Bettger) and the crooked mayor (Buchanan) appoint the local drunk, Rags Barnaby (Mitchell), as sheriff. Thinking it will be easy to control the town now, Decker is surprised to learn that Barnaby has sent for help in the form of Tom Destry (Murphy), the son of a famous hard nosed lawman. However, when Tom arrives, he isn't exactly the all conquering macho lawman the town were expecting, in fact he doesn't even carry a gun!
OK, when judged against the James Stewart/ Marlene Dietrich starring Destry Rides Again from 1939 (also directed by George Marshall), this Audie Murphy led remake is standard stuff. The third attempt at adapting Max Brand's novel (there was also a Tom Mix version in 1932), George Marshall's movie has good production values, is well represented by the cast and all told is an amiable way to spend an afternoon. Three songs light up proceedings: Bang! Bang! If You Can Can-Can and Empty Arms (words and music by Herbert & Hughes), while the Technicolor is gorgeous (check out those costumes) and the final gun play is very well staged by Marshall and his team.
Sadly much of the picture is spent within the confines of the town, with a number of dialogue based scenarios that come off as samey. This means we miss out on ample usage of the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, location exteriors. Yet in the capable hands of Marshall and Murphy it rounds out as a safe recommendation to B Western fans. 7/10
- hitchcockthelegend
- Feb 14, 2012
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,500,000
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.00 : 1