Destry (1954)

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

Max Brand (suggested by novel "Destry Rides Again")
Felix Jackson (story)

Release Date:

1 December 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

From the roaring , raucous, rowdy pages of the best-loved legend of the West!

Plot:

In the old West, a small frontier town is being controlled by ruthless mob boss Decker (Lyle Bettger) and his cronies...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Deputy | Beautiful Woman | Shot In The Back | Poker

Cast

Audie Murphy	...	Tom Destry
Mari Blanchard	...	Brandy
Lyle Bettger	...	Phil Decker
Thomas Mitchell	...	Reginald T. 'Rags' Barnaby
Edgar Buchanan	...	The Honorable Hiram J. Sellers, Mayor
Lori Nelson	...	Martha Phillips
Wallace Ford	...	Doc Curtis
Mary Wickes	...	Bessie Mae Curtis
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Jack Larson
George Wallace	...	Curly Adams
Richard Reeves	...	Mac
Walter Baldwin	...	Henry Skinner
Lee Aaker	...	Eli Skinner
Mitchell Lawrence	...	The Professor
Frank Richards	...	Dummy

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Norway:12 (1955) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17121, General Audience) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

'Audie Murphy' acted with Alan Hale Jr. in "Destry". Alan would go on to be Skipper in "Gilligan's Island" (1964). Audie made Ride Clear of Diablo (1954) with The Professor, Russell Johnson.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Tom Destry: Which reminds me of a book I read once. It was all about a fellow and a girl - they had the doggonedest time gettin' together. Oh, it wasn't her fault. It wasn't exactly his fault, either. It was just a whole lot of mix-ups kept 'em apart. One day, this fella...
Martha Phillips: You know something? You read too many books!
[they embrace]
Tom Destry: Yeah. But there comes a time when a fella just has to stop readin' so much.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Destry Rides Again (1939)

Soundtrack:

Empty Arms

Very Enjoyable

I'm a big fan of Audie Murphy, but even I willingly admit that most of his movies are mediocre at best. That being said, AMC has been running some Audie Murphy movies that I've never been able to see before...and much to my surprise, I found myself thoroughly enjoying "Destry"! Whenever the studios cared enough to surround Audie Murphy with top-quality supporting players (such as Thomas Mitchell, Edgar Buchanan, Alan Hale, Jr., and Lyle Bettger in this film), Audie's performances always rose to the level of those around him. Everyone is good in this movie, with very little of the over-acting that was the style then.

I saw the Dietrich/Stewart version many years ago...I've never liked Marlene Dietrich and never understood what the big deal with her was, but Jimmy Stewart tops the list of my favorite actors, so it surprises me that I honestly can't remember a single scene from their film. The Murphy remake, however, has some really nice moments that have stuck with me. I'm sure I'll offend a lot of people by saying the following, but Mari Blanchard has more beauty and sex appeal than Dietrich ever DREAMED of having. Mari Blanchard is absolutely stunning in this film.

As for the technical end, I found the directing good, the script devoid of the usual brainless dialog and plot holes that many B Westerns of the time seemed burdened with, and the score was not intrusive. People seem to think this is a comedy, but it is not...it is a Western with humor in it...there's a difference. The humor is derived from the real situations, but never descends into broad comedy with pratfalls and nonsense.

Many Audie Murphy films are good for a single viewing and can be forgotten, but "Destry" is definitely worth repeat viewing. If you run across it, I highly recommend checking it out...there is good stuff throughout.