Rent Destry Rides Again (1939)

Classic Western - Destry Rides Again review by GI

A star vehicle for Marlene Dietrich and the film that effectively revived her career that had been in the doldrums. It's also the first western of James Stewart. A real classic not only of the western genre but for the classical period of Hollywood and in particular the year 1939, which seems to have been a major turning point in American cinema. Interestingly this film has all the western tropes of this period, big saloon bar brawls, stagecoaches, town drunks, the sassy dance hall girl and the sleazy gambler/bad guy and yet subverts the conventions in that the 'hero' shuns the use of guns and the womenfolk, usually just victims and side characters, are the force of strength in the narrative. This is a comedy western, with set piece songs for Dietrich to sing and a story of the meek defeating the strong. Here Stewart is the mild mannered deputy sheriff, Tom Destry, who is drafted in to a wild western town to tame it but as an unarmed lawman he becomes the subject of ridicule by the hard drinking men. The town is run by saloon owner, Kent (Brian Donlevy) who cheats at cards and murdered the previous sheriff, the crime which Tom soon latches onto to bring Kent down. Genre convention and American culture demand that the hero straps on his guns to resolve the matter in the film's climax. The film is centred though around Dietrich's performance as Frenchy, the prostitute, who changes allegiances with the narrative having a famous catfight as a centrepiece. An interesting western, yes a classic, and a must see for all film fans.