Tom Destry (James Stewart), son of a legendary frontier peacekeeper, doesn't believe in gunplay. Thus he becomes the object of widespread ridicule when he rides into the wide-open town of Bottleneck, the personal fiefdom of the crooked Kent (Brian Donlevy). His detractors laugh even louder when Destry signs on as deputy to drunken sheriff Wash Dimsdale (Charles Winninger). But the laughter subsides when Destry casually proves himself a crack shot, despite his abhorrence of firearms. Later, when
saloon chanteuse Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich), Kent's gal, takes umbrage at Destry's indifferent reaction to her charms, she vows to make a fool of the new deputy. A huge moneymaker, Destry Rides Again served as a spectacular comeback for Marlene Dietrich, who two years earlier had been written off as "box office poison." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The movie might not be anywhere near as good as its reputation suggests, but as a straight-up cowboy flick with moments of light comic relief, it's a fairly fun picture.
The conceit of the seeming milksop who’s actually tougher than the hooligans was already a cliché when the movie was made, but Destry has a few twists to keep things interesting.
When the sheriff of a corrupt frontier town is murdered and replaced with the town drunk, the man calls on the services of the son of a legendary law man, only to find that he is a pacifist. James Stewart is at his very best for this, one of his defining roles. His easy going charm and integrity are a perfect foil for
Marlene Dietrich's feisty music hall girl (so brilliantly parodied by Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles) and they have fantastic chemistry together; the cat-fight scene is pure comedy gold. Essentially a story about standing by your principles no matter what the provocation, all the characters are impossible to dislike, with some great comic relief provided by a quality supporting cast. Consistently funny with a timeless story of a hero who refuses to resort to violence in the face of adversity, this is one of my all time favourites and a true classic from the golden age.
November 5, 2006
xGary Xx
Super Reviewer
Until recently, I assumed this was just the usual old-fashioned Western. Didn't realize it was funnier than the norm nor, more importantly, just how much "Blazing Saddles" owes to this story (the new sheriff who thwarts the enemy in non-violent ways, the vampy German saloon singer, the drunken sidekick with past
glories...). That said, "Destry" wasn't quite as much of a comedy as I hoped, though the recurrent "I knew a guy" gag is wonderfully droll. And Marlene Dietrich is lots of fun to watch -- she's obviously having a ball with her role.
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