I was unprepared for how awful Destry Rides Again would be. I'd been warned that although a classic, it didn't stand the test of time well. But I didn't think it would stink so terribly. Every single gag went on twice as long as it should have, from barfights to muttering asides to drunken explosions to silly stories. The pace was shockingly slow and not self-aware.
You'll see a big cast in the movie, but they don't make it worthwhile. James Stewart plays a pre-The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance character: a deputy sheriff who refuses to use a gun and comes across as wimpy. His delivery is quite irritating, though, as he uses half George Baily and half Elwood P. Dowd. I know he hadn't made either of those movies yet, but it spoils the magic a bit. Brian Donlevy is the crooked gambler in town who killed the last sheriff, but he's too handsome to really root against. Charles Winninger is the town drunk promoted to sheriff for the sole purpose of being useless. He has a lot of screen time, but I wonder if he got tired of being cast as drunken Irishmen. Mischa Auer is a bad gambler and wannabe cowboy who's meant to constantly make the audience laugh, but his delivery is slow and the lines aren't good to begin with.
Marlene Dietrich is Brian's girlfriend and the head saloon girl, and although she looks sufficiently filthy and haggard to be a prostitute in the Wild West, she also looks like a joke. Her extremely curly wig is ridiculous, making her look like a blonde Raggedy Ann. Her acting is also appallingly awful, as if she'd never made a movie before. In one scene, she mercilessly throws everything in sight at James Stewart. Instead of looking mad, she merely looks like she's searching for her next prop. In another, she's supposed to grab Jimmy's lapels and try to stop him from leaving the room. But in the line before he even starts to move, she clutched his coat to make sure she'd have a good grip when the time came. I'm surprised director George Marshall kept the take with such an amateur action front and center in the camera's sight.
You'll also see a young Jack Carson, Una Merkel, Samuel S. Hinds, and Allen Jenkins. I know you'll want to see it; it's a classic. But now that I've detailed everything wrong with it, you don't have to. Rent another western tonight, for my sake.
You'll see a big cast in the movie, but they don't make it worthwhile. James Stewart plays a pre-The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance character: a deputy sheriff who refuses to use a gun and comes across as wimpy. His delivery is quite irritating, though, as he uses half George Baily and half Elwood P. Dowd. I know he hadn't made either of those movies yet, but it spoils the magic a bit. Brian Donlevy is the crooked gambler in town who killed the last sheriff, but he's too handsome to really root against. Charles Winninger is the town drunk promoted to sheriff for the sole purpose of being useless. He has a lot of screen time, but I wonder if he got tired of being cast as drunken Irishmen. Mischa Auer is a bad gambler and wannabe cowboy who's meant to constantly make the audience laugh, but his delivery is slow and the lines aren't good to begin with.
Marlene Dietrich is Brian's girlfriend and the head saloon girl, and although she looks sufficiently filthy and haggard to be a prostitute in the Wild West, she also looks like a joke. Her extremely curly wig is ridiculous, making her look like a blonde Raggedy Ann. Her acting is also appallingly awful, as if she'd never made a movie before. In one scene, she mercilessly throws everything in sight at James Stewart. Instead of looking mad, she merely looks like she's searching for her next prop. In another, she's supposed to grab Jimmy's lapels and try to stop him from leaving the room. But in the line before he even starts to move, she clutched his coat to make sure she'd have a good grip when the time came. I'm surprised director George Marshall kept the take with such an amateur action front and center in the camera's sight.
You'll also see a young Jack Carson, Una Merkel, Samuel S. Hinds, and Allen Jenkins. I know you'll want to see it; it's a classic. But now that I've detailed everything wrong with it, you don't have to. Rent another western tonight, for my sake.