Review of Support Your Local Sheriff

Introduction

This was the first of the two post-Maverick comedy-westerns made by James Garner that gave a breath of post-modern freshness into a long-stale genre. Made in 1969 for United Artists, the picture predated Mel Brooks` spoofery by five years, and while it isn`t as broadly comic (no farting cowboys) the screenplay does have a delightfully subversive streak against the cliches of the genre.

James Garner plays Jason McCullough, an Australia-bound drifter who happens on a lawless gold-rush town dominated by the cutthroat Danby family headed by gummy Western stalwart Walter Brennan. Having witnessed the youngest and stupidest Danby son Joe (Bruce Dern) in action, McCullough takes the vacant position of sheriff and locks Joe up in the town`s bar-less jail. McCullough`s lateral thinking keeps Joe behind (absent) bars, and brings down the displeasure of old Pa Danby and his dopey brothers.

Joan Hackett features as Prudence, Mayor Henry Morgan`s disaster-prone daughter and McCullough`s romantic interest. Picking up wall-eyed Jake (the inimitable Jack Elam) as his deputy, McCullough cleans up the town in his own superbly sneaky fashion.

The cast is full of grand character actors you`ll recognise from stuff like Alias Smith And Jones or Bonanza including Henry Jones as one of the town council.

Written with a good dose of post-modern subversion by producer William Bowers and directed by Burt Kennedy, this movie will keep you watching with a wry smile on your face. Sheer class.

Video

Presented anamorphically in the original theatrical format 1.85:1, the movie has something of a made-for-tv air (although it wasn`t). It`s probably something to do with the content, the fact I`ve always seen the pan-and-scan tv print before, and Harry Stradling`s tv-style photography. The print is in excellent shape, with little wear and tear. Colours and contrast are spot on.

Audio

The movie was made in Mono, and the soundtrack is reproduced in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. There`s a selection of multilingual dubs to choose from as well.

Features

There`s not so much as a whisper of any extras, but to MGM`s credit the movie is fully (and multilingually) subtitled.

Conclusion

I grew up with this movie. It`s among my favourite comedy-westerns (and I can`t stand straight westerns). Happily subverting every Western cliche, I`d rate it and its sequel Support Your Local Gunfighter alongside Mel Brooks` Blazing Saddles. You`ll probably know the movie from countless outings on television, as it has been a staple of the schedulers since the early 1970s. Treat yourself to this print, as you`ve never seen the movie looking so good.

The town`s dance hall is called Madame Orr`s House, which is a cute gag on two levels - it was apparently also a dig at one of the studio bosses involved in Garner`s long-running series Maverick.