It is regrettable that pseudo-critics cannot separate politics from thespianism. The majority of the critical reviews for Law and Order seem to take gratuitous potshots at Ronald Reagan's performance rather than evaluating the film as a whole.
Reagan plays Frame Johnson, a lawman set on hanging up his guns and starting a family with Jeannie, Dorothy Malone's character. When circumstances force his hand, he pins the badge back on and faces up to long-time nemesis Kurt Durling, capably portrayed by Preston Foster. Other cast members worth noting are Russell Johnson (Gilligan's Island) as the youngest Johnson brother, Dennis Weaver (Gunsmoke) in a role very different than Chester, and Jack Kelly (Maverick) quite unlike his affable Bart Maverick character. Though a rather small role, I particularly like Alex Nicol as Luther "Lute" Johnson. Nicol was equally adept in sympathetic characters or psychotic villains. Filmed in brilliant Technicolor on location at Red Rock Canyon State Park adds to the aesthetic appeal. The script seems balanced; not loquacious, but establishing the characters so the viewer knows them. Adding to the sense of realism, Reagan himself performed the majority of the climatic fight scenes; it is evident that he, and not a double is in the moving wagon. The irony is that a double was just as obviously used in the initial fight scene which was far less dramatic.
Speaking to some criticisms which have been levied against Reagan, it is true that his acting came across wooden at times, but he is quite believable as Frame. If he were stoic in certain scenes, it actually lends credibility to the plot and his character. Part of rating, in my humble opinion, is evaluating the picture in the context of the audience for which it was intended. Law and Order was never an attempt to compete with Judgement at Nuremburg, The Ten Commandments, or Citizen Kane. It was intended for the crowds of moviegoers who flocked to see Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Jimmy Stewart entries of the same era, and as such, it delivers more than adequately.
Reagan plays Frame Johnson, a lawman set on hanging up his guns and starting a family with Jeannie, Dorothy Malone's character. When circumstances force his hand, he pins the badge back on and faces up to long-time nemesis Kurt Durling, capably portrayed by Preston Foster. Other cast members worth noting are Russell Johnson (Gilligan's Island) as the youngest Johnson brother, Dennis Weaver (Gunsmoke) in a role very different than Chester, and Jack Kelly (Maverick) quite unlike his affable Bart Maverick character. Though a rather small role, I particularly like Alex Nicol as Luther "Lute" Johnson. Nicol was equally adept in sympathetic characters or psychotic villains. Filmed in brilliant Technicolor on location at Red Rock Canyon State Park adds to the aesthetic appeal. The script seems balanced; not loquacious, but establishing the characters so the viewer knows them. Adding to the sense of realism, Reagan himself performed the majority of the climatic fight scenes; it is evident that he, and not a double is in the moving wagon. The irony is that a double was just as obviously used in the initial fight scene which was far less dramatic.
Speaking to some criticisms which have been levied against Reagan, it is true that his acting came across wooden at times, but he is quite believable as Frame. If he were stoic in certain scenes, it actually lends credibility to the plot and his character. Part of rating, in my humble opinion, is evaluating the picture in the context of the audience for which it was intended. Law and Order was never an attempt to compete with Judgement at Nuremburg, The Ten Commandments, or Citizen Kane. It was intended for the crowds of moviegoers who flocked to see Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Jimmy Stewart entries of the same era, and as such, it delivers more than adequately.