Thomas Jefferson Destry is the son of the famous late sheriff, who is blindly recruited by the town of Bottleneck's new sheriff (converted town drunk) to become deputy, in attempt to bring some law and order to the trigger-happy congregation. But when he arrives he is not at all what the sheriff expected. Most unlike his father, this Destry steps out of his carriage holding a canary, a parasol, and touting no gun. He drinks milk,whittles napkin rings, and is fond of telling educational stories.
When he arrives he is treated as laughing stock, no more so than by the town's bar girl, the wily, foul-mouthed, beer sluggin' Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich). She isn't pleased when the scrawny, anti-violence new guy steps in trying to take over a town that she is accustomed to eating out of the palm of her hand. Destry makes another enemy in Kent, Frenchy's card cheating buddy who sees Destry's mild manner and respect for the law as an easy way to get what he wants.
The conflict is not especially interesting. It involves a crooked card game gone awry, giving some unpleasant men the property rights to a family's ranch. Destry must use all of his cunning to establish order in the town without resorting to violence which seems to be an impossible task, but his delicate frame and quiet voice hide cunning and some special tricks that prove a formidable adversary to the social deviants of Bottleneck.
Destry Rides Again is supposed to be one of the great comedy westerns--in fact it really established what a comedy western was. I made the mistake of going into this film thinking it was going to be something along the lines of Blazing Saddles. Sure, Airplane had not yet been made, but Duck Soup had been, and I assumed that that sort of mad-cap style would be infused in such a highly regarded comedy. I was wrong. It was not very funny at all. Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart as Destry are in top form, making comedy when not much is really there to be found, but it really just is not a laugh-out-loud kind of movie--it isn't even the kind of movie that you think to yourself, "that was funny." It's not a terrible movie. If fact, it is actually pretty good as a drama. I was compelled by the characters, particularly Frenchy, even if I wasn't holding my sides with laughter. I can see where a film like would inspire something like Blazing Saddles, but I'm not so sure that it should be placed so high on its pedestal.
One thing that I find odd not only about this movie, but the westerns in general with Dietrich in them, is that Dietrich is in them. She is a beautiful woman (if kind of scary), but is always cast as the saloon singer even though she has the voice of a steam engine, can't say her R's, and has an incredibly thick German accent. How she made it into one western, let alone be type casted in that role, is baffling to me. I do like watching her though. She has charm, and stage presence. Sieg Heil.
I guess one thing that I did find amusing is how relevant this film still is today if you think about it correctly. A shrimpy man comes into town without a pistol--an obviously phallic object--and is ridiculed about not sporting it around. But watch when he takes a revolver from a guy outside of the saloon and shoot the pegs off of the wooden sign without missing a shot. He's got a quiet confidence because he knows he is packing heat. Try substituting a Hummer or a Harley in for that pistol and Destry Rides Again makes perfect sense in today's world. It's a film about feeling incompetent and making up for it by buying the largest cylindrical rod you can lay your small hands on. Ha.
2.5/4
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