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:

Beautiful Woman | Poker | Broken Mirror | Portrait Artists | Crooked Gambling

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 | 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)

Quotes:

Bartender: Are you going to take over the whole job now?
Tom Destry: What job?
Bartender: Well, Rags was just in here and traded this
[his sheriff's badge]
Bartender: for a jug. I guess he figured it was better to be a first-rate drunk than a second-rate sheriff.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Destry Rides Again (1939)

Soundtrack:

If You Can Can-Can

Something Should Be Done About Promiscuous Shooting

Sometimes remakes do turn out for the best and Audie Murphy was a perfect in the casting of another edition of the Destry saga. I will say this though, Destry's grown up considerable. Audie uses some forensic science to clean up the town and the final gunfight is played a bit more seriously than in the James Stewart-Marlene Dietrich classic.

For those who haven't seen either film, a certain crooked saloon keeper/ town boss has been grabbing land by hook or crook and kills the sheriff who's opposing him. Lyle Bettger is every bit as nasty as Brian Donlevy was. Bettger gets the idea to make the deputy, Thomas Mitchell, the sheriff. Mitchell is the town drunk, but Mitchell fools them and sends for the son of legendary lawman Tom Destry to be his deputy.

When Audie Murphy as Destry comes to town it's without wearing firearms, but in his own quiet way Audie gets results.

Of course saloon girl Mari Blanchard ain't a patch on Marlene Dietrich, but that's pretty stiff competition for anyone. Edgar Buchanan is the mayor and does his usual foxy and calculating part and we're not quite sure where he'll wind up in the end.

Destry is one of Audie Murphy's better B westerns from the Fifties and it shows with the right casting, a classic can be done well a second time.