Support Your Local Gunfighter/Support Your Local Sheriff
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Movie Reviews of Support Your Local Gunfighter/Support Your Local Sheriff
Movie Review: Support Your Local Sheriff/Support Your Local Gunfighter
Summary: 4 Stars
Support Your Local Sheriff*****
I'm not going to tag this movie as essential but, in my book, it is. This is James Garner in his two best genres: comedy & western. In some ways, by virtue of this being a comedy-western, it makes this a throwback, of sorts, to his old TV series, Maverick. Nobody, & I mean NOBODY, did the comedy-western genre better than Garner. His comedic timing is impeccable & his acting extremely natural. Garner is so good on so many levels it makes one wonder: Is he acting or just being himself? This is the first of the "Support..." films, the other being Support Your Local Gunfighter; they are similar movies but not related to each other, especially not in the sense of a sequel. But they're certainly companions to one another.
Jason McCullough (James Garner) arrives in Calendar, broke. He's on his way to Australia & that's all he really wants to do. Calendar has become a gold-rush town & is booming, inflation has skyrocketed. He sees an ad for town sheriff & applies for it & is successful in securing the position but with one stipulation: He also wants to prospect for gold in order to get enough money to purchase a ticket to Australia. The town council is all too willing because McCullough puts on a shooting demonstration (shooting a coin dead center after being tossed in the air & then repeating it with a piece of paper stuck on the coin) that would impress the best shootists of the day.
One of the first things to happen after he gets on the job is he witnesses Joe Danby (Bruce Dern) murder a man in a gunfight. In the process of arresting Joe Danby McCullough becomes outnumbered & gets assistance from the town drunk, Jake (Jack Elam), who is pretty decent with a handgun. This role for Elam would be one of the best of his career. Jake is made deputy by McCullough which becomes a focal point for some of the comedy.
The arrest of Joe Danby is the catalyst for the film. Joe is a member of the large Danby clan that basically run the area. Pa Danby (Walter Brennan) is head of the clan & is downright nasty but hilarious. He's stuck with two more sons who aren't very bright: Luke (Dick Peabody) & Tom (Gene Evans). One of the funniest scenes in the movie occurs when Pa visits Joe in jail. The jail is newly built but the bars haven't arrived yet. McCullough, upon inspecting this jail in an earlier scene, has sprinkled red paint on the floor in front of the barless cell. When he arrested Joe Danby & put him in the cell McCullough explains to him that it's the blood of a previous arrestee that attempted to escape. Pa Danby can't believe his son is dumb enough to believe this & now we know that Pa Danby has three witless sons, not just two.
McCullough has taken up residence at the house of the mayor Olly Perkins (Harry Morgan) who has a very flaky daughter, Prudy (Joan Hackett). Both are great in their roles. Prudy wants to be in a relationship with McCullough but he's quick to point out he's just here long enough to get the money to get his ticket to Australia. This doesn't slow down Prudy but everything she does turns into a comical accident.
We finally get to the inevitable gunfight where the Danbys come to town with their ranch hands. Here we have another classic, funny scene where, in the middle of guns blazing, McCullough stands up & announces "Hold your fire!" He slowly crosses the street in order to get into a better position, all the while reminding everyone to hold their fire. When he gets to his new position he announces they can begin shooting again & guns are blazing once again.
This is as good as it gets in the comedy-western. It was directed by Burt Kennedy who specialized in this type of film. This version is in widescreen & the only special feature is the theatrical trailer. There is an audio track in French & subtitles are in French & Spanish.
Support Your Local Gunfighter****
Though the titles are similar, as is some of the cast, this isn't a sequel to Support Your Local Sheriff. In some ways it's the complete opposite of Support Your Local Sheriff. In Sheriff Garner was good with a gun, in this one he isn't. In this movie he's Latigo Smith, much more akin to Maverick than his character in Sheriff, i.e., he's slower with a gun & somewhat of a coward.
Latigo arrives in Purgatory (a town name that would've been perfect in an episode of Maverick) on the run from a woman he's jilted & conned. He, literally, wants to get something off his chest...a tattoo with the name Goldie, the woman he's running from. Latigo happens to overhear Taylor Barton (Harry Morgan), a local mining baron, talking about putting a competitor out of business, Col. Ames (John Dehner who had appeared in the old Maverick TV series), by hiring a notorious gunman, Swifty Morgan (Chuck Connors). Ever the conman, Latigo senses an opportunity to make some fast cash. He convinces Jug May (Jack Elam), a drunken & derelict cowboy if there ever was one, to impersonate the gunfighter. Jug May is about as slow as a cowboy can be when doing the fast draw; Latigo constantly outdraws him proclaiming, "I'm slow, Jug!" But Jug is really into the impersonation so he's constantly practicing his fast draw. Latigo is claiming he's going to give Jug 40% of the money he'll collect but he quotes him a figure way below that percentage.
Unfortunately for Latigo, he takes a shine to Barton's daughter, Patience (Suzanne Pleshette). Pleshette is the only real improvement in casting from Sheriff, much better than Joan Hackett. Some very funny scenes occur in the movie, such as the scene in the saloon when a man wants to have a gunfight with Jug, Latigo comes up from behind & knocks him out with a pool cue across the head. Jug says "That wasn't fair, you hit him from behind!" & Latigo replies with a straight face, "Just as hard as I could!" In a later scene a young gunfighter has come to town looking to build his reputation by killing Swifty Morgan (Jug still impersonating him). Latigo cowardly knocks him out too. While unconscious Latigo breaks a finger on the gunman's right hand. Jug observes that the gunman seemed to be a cross draw artist because of the way his holster is on, Latigo then breaks a finger on the other hand.
Finally, the real Swifty Morgan comes to town, he wants to kill the man impersonating him. By this time Latigo has really taking a liking to Jug & doesn't want to see any harm coming to him since it was Latigo that put him up to the impersonation. Thus, it's Latigo who goes out to meet Morgan but, knowing he can't outdraw him, Latigo shows up on a mule loaded down with dynamite. This is where Morgan shouts out the infamous line, " You can't have a gunfight while sitting on your a**!" Well, the dynamite goes off, blowing up Madame Orr's house & revealing a brand new rich vein of gold. Swifty's dying & wants to get his boots off,but can't; Patience can now marry Latigo & the doctor never did succeed in getting the tattoo removed.
This film is directed by Burt Kennedy who was great at doing the western spoof. The only bonus feature is the theatrical trailer & the film is in the widescreen format.
Movie Review: Great
Summary: 5 Stars
I love Support Your Local Sheriff and Support your Local Gonfighter, James Garner Buce Dern make the movie. It's a good an funny movie. Movie Review: Classic western comedies
Summary: 4 Stars
These two comedies are of the same gendre but they are not sequels, despite the titles. In both James Garner plays the same type of character, a wanderer who drifts into town, local girl falls for him, gets a sidekick and fights off people trying to kill him. Formula but it works nicely due to Garner's touch. There are some scenes you will probably remember for a long time (finger stuck in gun barrel, explosions). Both are good for the entire family (no nudity, bad language, blood etc.). Movie Review: One's better than the other
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this item because I wanted to replace a VHS copy of "...Sheriff." I had recorded it about 15 years ago and my copy was starting to show the wear. Great script and well acted -- particularly the interaction with Bruce Dern. I found "gunfighter" to be a poor imitation of "sheriff" (as many sequels are). I'd sell my copy for a couple of bucks. Just buy "sheriff" if you can find it by itself.Movie Review: James Garner
Summary: 4 Stars
James Garner, great actor! These two movies are still favorites of mine. Always intertaining and stand the test of time very well. Two Classic Movies.