Growing up in the sixties and seventies I had plenty of
opportunity to see movies and TV series starring James Garner. From THE GREAT
ESCAPE to THE ROCKFORD FILES to Polaroid commercials, Garner was everywhere. He
had an affable charm to the way he acted and created a persona of know it all
smart aleck as witnessed early on in his TV series MAVERICK. There was always a
sense of comfort in watching him act, a feeling that no matter what all of his
characters were in control, something we all wished were true in our own lives.
This was evident in a one two punch of films he did in the
late 60s/early 70s with “Support” in their titles; SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF
in 1969 and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GUNFIGHTER in 1971. Both films have been
available as single entries on DVD but now Twilight Time has combined the two
in a single blu-ray package. A better combination would be hard to beat as
would the entertainment value found in both of these films. They present Garner
at his best.
SHERIFF has Garner starring as Jason McCullough, a man on
his way to Australia who stops in a small mining town along the way. At the
local saloon he witnesses Joe Danby (Bruce Dern) kill a man and knocks him
unconscious before he can kill a second. Part of the infamous Danby clan who
everyone fears in town, the mayor (Harry Morgan) makes McCullough an offer to
become their sheriff. In need of funds McCullough takes the job insisting that
it is only temporary.
What follows are funny moments aplenty as McCullough stops
everything from rowdy cowboys yelling and galloping through town to facing down
the various members of the Danby clan, led by Pa Danby (Walter Brennan). Making
each encounter even funnier is the fact that McCullough uses his head more
often than his guns even though he is quite adept with those. An eventual
showdown with the Danbys is inevitable to determine who is in charge.
Along the way there are two other great performances and
stories. The first comes from Joan Hackett as Prudy Perkins, the mayor’s
daughter. A wild and rambunctious woman more prone to knock a man down using a
2x4 as opposed to batting her eyelashes, she finds herself drawn to McCullough
early on and the two battle back and forth as their attraction to one another
grows. Also in the mix is Jack Elam as Jake, the town drunk that McCullough
takes on as his deputy. Jake is someone McCullough trusts and can mold into
whatever it is he needs. Elam, often seen in westerns and coming to his own as
a comedic actor here, is fantastic in this part.
There are tons of great sight gags in this film that if
you’ve seen it you will recall. A jail cell without bars is one and a finger in
a gun is another. If you recall either then you’ve seen this movie and know how
hilarious it can be. This one alone is worth picking up this disc for.
GUNFIGHTER came two years later and was made in an attempt
to cash in on the success of the first film. A number of cast members return
here and the successful formula used in the first film is in play but it
doesn’t come off quite as good. Garner here stars as Latigo Smith, a con man
who makes his way west on the comforts and cash of various madames. After ditching
the last one who was intent on marrying him, Latigo gets off in the town of
Purgatory, a town in the midst of a battle over a mine heading for a huge gold
strike.
Getting off the train Latigo is thought to be Swifty Morgan,
a gunslinger hired by Colonel Ames (John Dehner) to keep Taylor (Harry Morgan
again) and his company out and beat him to the gold. Taylor and company follow
him to the local hotel to find out his intentions while he ignores them. At the
same time Taylor’s wild daughter Patience (Suzanne Pleshette) is shooting
anything in sight without hitting anyone, the result of a supposed insult. Her
method of dealing with “Swifty” is to try and shoot him first.
Eventually Latigo makes friends with down on his luck
cowhand Jug May (Jack Elam again). When he learns of the situation in town he
tries to remain uninvolved. Unfortunately an addiction to the roulette wheel
causes him to lose all his money and he then turns the tables on all involved,
playing a con on them by pushing Jug off as the real Swifty and himself as his
manager.
All is well and Latigo finds himself attracted to Patience
as the film progresses. But eventually the real Swifty will learn of what is
going on and attempt to set the record straight. The question is can Latigo generate
enough funds to move on before he can get there.
While still funnier than many comedies coming out today this
one doesn’t quite come off as good as the first film. But even then it offers
tons of laughs and quick back and forth dialogue between Garner and Elam that
works amazingly well. Garner again comes off as the quick witted individual who
makes the best of any and all situations, coming out on top in spite of all
that happens.
Twilight Time outdoes themselves once again with pristine
quality transfers of each of these movies to blu-ray. Extras are sparse here
but it’s the movies that you’ll be interested in. Included in the extras are
isolated score tracks, audio commentary tracks by film historians Lee Pfeiffer
and Paul Scrabo and original theatrical trailers on both.
Not only will this edition of these films be a welcome one
to your collection more than likely they will be ones to keep handy, pulled out
at least on a yearly basis to be enjoyed and bring a smile to your face. As
with all of their releases Twilight Time is only issuing a limited edition run
of 3,000 so if you want to add this to your collection do so today.
Click here to order.
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