Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

classicsoncall With the lyrics "Let's start the evening with a bang!", this film gets off to a lively start with Mari Blanchard kicking up her heels, and I might say, all the rest of her leggy assets as well. It's interesting how she transforms her character from a conniving saloon moll to an almost decent citizen by the end of the story. I was curious how the near romantic triangle between Brandy, Destry and Martha Phillips (Lori Nelson) would play out, but villain Decker's (Lyle Bettger) bullet took care of that. It would have been interesting to see who Destry might have picked if Brandy made it to the end of the picture.I've always been a little on the fence about Audie Murphy as an actor. He's almost always a bit too laid back and laconic in his delivery, and when cast as a villain or anti-hero ("No Name On The Bullet", "Gunsmoke"), his baby face good looks generally don't fit the role. His portrayal here might be one of the better situations he found himself in, he shows up as the unassuming green horn and grows into the deputy role over a series of confrontations with Decker's henchmen. It was neat to see how ballistic science was worked into the story as well, but I wondered why Decker or the honorable mayor (Edgar Buchanan) simply didn't throw the bullets away when they had the chance.The other curious thing about the picture was the cat-fight scene between Blanchard's character and that of Mary Wickes playing the doctor's wife. It got pretty scrappy, but it would have made more sense for Destry's romantic rivals to go at it. Oh well, maybe the next remake. Speaking of which, I haven't seen the original yet with Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Deitrich, but other reviewers on this board are pointing me in that direction.All in all, not a bad little Western, certainly entertaining enough with all the musical numbers thrown in. It could have used a little more Alan Hale as long as he was on hand to begin with. A lot of other familiar faces, if not names on hand as well. But one thing that kept me scratching my head - 'Promiscuous shootin'?

Elswet Remakes are sometimes necessary. At least Audie Murphy was the perfect casting choice for a continuation of the Destry line. At least this new Destry line is modernized in that he engages the other cast members with a little knowledge of forensics, which came as a (nice) surprise.Lyle Bettger is every bit as devilish as the bad guy of the original work (Brian Donlevy), and will do anything to make a buck and maintain his hold over a small western town. The town drunk is made sheriff after the former sheriff is murdered when he attempts to stop the bad guy from a land-grabbing deal via a bad hand of poker.The new sheriff (again, the town drunk) pulls a surprise on the bad guys by sending for Tom Destry's son as his deputy. When Audie Murphy joins his boss (as little Destry), he comes without benefit of a firearm, and bearing a bird cage and a parasol! However, his mild demeanor does achieve some surprising results, and when he is pushed, the firearms come to bear.Mari Blanchard can't hold a candle to Marlene Dietrich (of the original), but who could? And while Audie Murphy isn't Jimmy Stewart, the final gun battle is a good bit more tense and somber than the original, which I highly enjoyed.This is one of the best of the B western line put out by Audie Murphy, and in my opinion proves that remakes CAN be done well, with the proper casting and direction. I HOPE modern film makers can find that groove.This is one of my favorite old westerns, and rates an 8.7/10 on the B Scale. That's about a 5.4/10 on the A Scale from...the Fiend :.

lowkus This NEEDS to be released on DVD! It has all of the content necessary to be a great western. All of the acting is good, and the dialog is good, the camera-work and sets and costumes. Everything about this movie is good. It's a solid Western as they used to be made. It gives as good as "Destry Rides Again". Sure, it doesn't have Jimmy S., but then his presence doesn't a western make.This is one of those movies that isn't even available on VHS except the rare old deteriorating copies that are floating out in the universe of crumbling static-filled fuzzy video tape. Our local library used to have a VHS copy of it about a decade ago and then something happened to it and it disappeared from the shelves. Haven't seen another copy since.A restored DVD version would also do well to complement the "Destry Rides Again" movie. I mean, there are probably a bunch of people out there saying "Destry Rides Again... hmm, he's riding again? Where did he ride originally?". That's when they'll come looking for this movie... you corporate guys should be smelling profit by now.

tedphx Destry Rides Again was very good, and Jimmy Stewart certainly has a cowboy persona, but that's not the first image that comes to mind when we think of this great actor.Audie Murphy, on the other hand couldn't be more cowboy - Texas born and a super-hero FOR REAL, not the phony John Wayne type, and what's even better is that he's not a strapping hulk, he's an unassuming, charming, perpetual kid with a quiet inner strength. We think of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, but Audie Murphy tops them all. If he only could sing, everyone would know that.And Destry is his shining star. He's so good in the role, you watch almost the way you watch Casablanca. In fact, there seems to be a lot of similarity between Rick and Tom - they do what they need to do in unconventional ways, with a minimal amount of violence that they are forced to initiate against their wills.I love westerns, I love Destry, and I love Audie. If only all Americans were like him.