While this film is far from great, I appreciated how at least those who made the film tried to make something different than the usual insipid Western. While I love a well-made Western, I think most Hollywood Westerns of the 30s, 40s and 50s were incredibly formulaic and routine. As a result, I usually avoid them like the plague! So I was very, very happy to stumble upon this film since it is far from typical of the genre.
Gary Cooper and his buddy, William Demarest wander into a small town and Cooper is mistaken for a desperado who just robbed the stage coach. Instead of apprehending him, everyone is so afraid and treat him royally! However, Loretta Young quickly comes up and whisks them out of town. She knows that they are not the robbers and gets them out before they accidentally get shot! She knows, by the way, because the REAL robber is her boyfriend! Well, instead of continuing to explain the plot, I'll leave this up to you. Bowever the film is excellent due to very good acting by all the stars. Cooper and Young are wonderful and that's no surprise, and Dan Duryea is a great slimy villain (as usual), but the stand-out performance for me was Demarest. Instead of the usual idiotic supporting character he usually played in the 30s and 40s (especially in Preston Sturgess films), his supporting role was pretty serious and he effectively played a slightly older tough cowboy, so he was effective without being overly comical--I liked that.
See this film if you want something different AND has decent production values. While not a great film, it is very entertaining and fun--though not exactly a comedy like the videotape jacket said it was.
Gary Cooper and his buddy, William Demarest wander into a small town and Cooper is mistaken for a desperado who just robbed the stage coach. Instead of apprehending him, everyone is so afraid and treat him royally! However, Loretta Young quickly comes up and whisks them out of town. She knows that they are not the robbers and gets them out before they accidentally get shot! She knows, by the way, because the REAL robber is her boyfriend! Well, instead of continuing to explain the plot, I'll leave this up to you. Bowever the film is excellent due to very good acting by all the stars. Cooper and Young are wonderful and that's no surprise, and Dan Duryea is a great slimy villain (as usual), but the stand-out performance for me was Demarest. Instead of the usual idiotic supporting character he usually played in the 30s and 40s (especially in Preston Sturgess films), his supporting role was pretty serious and he effectively played a slightly older tough cowboy, so he was effective without being overly comical--I liked that.
See this film if you want something different AND has decent production values. While not a great film, it is very entertaining and fun--though not exactly a comedy like the videotape jacket said it was.