Destry Rides Again

source: Destry Rides Again

Every movie that Marlene Dietrich done quite often she not portrait the character very well, she plays herself in almost all movies, in this case happened the same, she played a singer who knew all about what's going on table of cards, then suddenly appears the handsome likes James Stewart and she turns back to your old pals, frankly is hard to believe, this why Dietrich wasn't takes so seriously in cinema, apart Rancho Notorious and Blue Angel which she was great, so in my opinion Dietrich was overrated in your career, she also was too arrogant and unfriendly mostly of actors and actress didn't like to work with her, l know why!!

There are several reasons why Destry Rides Again appeals to me. While I am not the biggest fan of westerns I do think there are some jewels within the genre, and I love comedy when it's done right. Destry Rides Again merges these two genres brilliantly. George Marshall does a fine job directing, I can understand why those would find his directing style flat but he allows the stars to have fun and has a nice understated approach to how he directs the film. This approach works. The film still looks great. The cinematography and editing are crisp, the sets don't look as though they are made on the cheap and the costumes are beautiful to watch, and the music is rousing and compliments the mood wonderfully. The story is not as good as some of the other components but it is a fun, well-paced and relevant one. And there is a fine cast. Marlene Dietrich, cast against type here looks as though she is having a ball and has some of the film's best scenes and lines, and the wonderful James Stewart in his first western lead shows a believable chemistry(like fireworks I'd say!) and gives a very charming performance. Brian Donlevy is deliciously snide and knows how to sneer and scowl, and Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger and Allen Jenkins are marvellous. Three things especially elevate Destry Rides Again to an even higher level though. One is the rollicking humour, the dialogue in particular is cracking and delivered with a wicked sense of timing by the whole cast. Secondly, Marlene Dietrich performing the simply fabulous See What the Boys in the Back Room Will have, that scene alone is a timeless classic. And finally, and possibly even the best of all, is the cat-fight between Dietrich and Una Merkel, which as far as I'm concerned has never been bettered. Overall, a classic western-comedy and not to be missed. I think it could have been a tad longer, but with everything else so good I don't mind so much. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

There is a lot of shooting in this movie, and it's shoot-outs that makes most westerns rather boring. It's noises all around and one cannot really follow what is going on, in the end some people are dead, others are not. On the other hand, there is a man in this 1939 western who doesn't like guns. He thinks problems should be solved without violence but by creating law and order. I wouldn't say this is a typical feature of a western and it made me laugh because I was reminded of films like `Dangerous Minds' with an explicit ethic message. So, this makes the film a little ridiculous but also bizarre. The movie itself is not outstanding and not especially interesting but: it features an unexpectedly well-tempered Marlene Dietrich, and it produced one of her most famous and catchiest songs: `See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have'. So, it's fine that we have it.

The first part was a little slow to me but once you get past it, this is an entertaining film which was popular with a lot of people, including this reviewer, who actually liked it better the second time around. Marlene Dietrich plays a role typical for her, an edgy saloon singer named "Frenchy," and except for her singing, which I never thought was very good, she's great to watch. James Stewart ("Thomas Jefferson Destry Jr.") also plays his normal role as the peaceful hero as does the too loud-and-obnoxious Charles Winniger (Destry's uncle). The ending is famous, a strange one in which the town's women storm the bad guys in a bar, culminating with Dietrich and Una Merkel fighting it out! It's very unrealistic but memorable and certainly fun to watch. All-in-all, a pretty fast-moving film which offers a little bit of everything: action, romance, drama, comedy....and a lot of good, known supporting actors I didn't even mention. This is one of the classics of a very famous year in films.

1939 that celebrated high point of the Hollywood studio system turned out to be the break out year for James Stewart. His career kicked into high gear with Destry Ridges Again and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. From just a good leading man these films guaranteed Jimmy Stewart screen immortality. Destry was equally an important film for Marlene Dietrich. Her career had come to a standstill and she had been let go from her original American studio, Paramount. A whole lot of people said she was through in Hollywood, but Marlene showed them all. This is the second film adaption of the story, a 1932 version was done by Tom Mix, one of his last films and one of his few sound ones. This one however is THE standard version. Destry Rides Again was directed by George Marshall who was very good at mixing humor and drama to make some great films. This one is probably Marshall's greatest. Among Hollywood directors from the studio age, he is sadly forgotten. The town of Bottleneck is one rip roaring place with a whole lot of promiscuous shooting going on. It's a pretty corrupt place run by saloon owner Brian Donlevy and his stooge mayor Samuel S. Hinds. When the sheriff is killed they 'elect' the town drunk Charles Winninger as the new sheriff. But Winninger who was a deputy sheriff at one time sends for the son of his former boss Thomas Jefferson Destry played by Jimmy Stewart. Destry makes quite an entrance into Bottleneck, running afoul of saloon entertainer Marlene Dietrich. His arrival in Bottleneck up to his first encounter with Marlene are some of the funniest moments ever put on screen. Destry Rides Again gave Marlene one of her classic ballads, See What the Boys in the Backroom Will Have as well as Little Joe, the Wrangler. Who would ever have thought that the girl from Germany would wind up having one of her most noted film roles as a western saloon entertainer. But Marlene created an indelible character, so much so that Mel Brooks and Madeline Kahn gave her a real heartfelt tribute in Blazing Saddles. I'll bet Marlene enjoyed that one also. James Stewart did not return to the western genre until Winchester 73 and Broken Arrow eleven years later. But this was one great film to make a debut in that film art form. You won't indulge in any promiscuous shooting while Destry is on the job.

This movie is basically a good movie made very good by James Stewart. Most impressive is that it was made in 1939. The movie has a cast of characters that are very believable in their roles. The humor is ahead of its time. I am not quite sure why I loved this movie so much, but if you want to know why everyone seems to love Stewart's films, just watch this one! Western movie buffs must-see this movie ]

A peaceful and milksop cowboy named Johnnny performed by James Stewart cleans up an uncontrollably lawless Western town called Bottleneck . The mild Johnny is appointed as deputy by the drunk but crusading sheriff well played by Charles Winninger . These were the adventures , fighting , laughing and brawling from Tombstone to Bottleneck . The film starts with a label captioning ¨ Welcome to Bottleneck ¨ and a traveling leads to a Saloon called ¨ Last Dance ¨ where rules the powerful nasty played by Brian Donlevy . There James Stewart/Johnny meets Frenchie/Marlene Dietrich . Johnny makes Marlene change her brand . A hard-boiled Dietrich with a difference -rouged but rugged- who fights , yells, yodels her way , sharp-nailed to love. This is a classic Hollywood Western , it turns out to be a mixture of action , fights, shootouts and humor. Lovely acting of Marlene Dietrich as the impulsive Saloon girl, she sings on the bar vintage songs as ¨ See what the boys in the back room will have ¨ and ¨ Little Joe the wrangler ¨ by Frederick Hollander and Frank Loesser and musical score by Frank Skinner. Dietrich , in her post-Stemberg moment , was labeled as Box-Office poison but this brawling Western turned her movie career all around the world and became her a hot actress again . James Stewart ideally cast as unarmed sheriff shows his usual delicious fair play for comedy , in a similar interpretation to ¨ Mr. Smith goes to Washington ¨ who recently starred. This spirited realization that never flags results to be a potpourri of Western , comedy , irony and action . This is the second of four adaptations based on the novel by Max Brand , the first was titled by American exhibitors as ¨ Justice rides again (1932) ¨ with Tom Mix and the third version released in 1951 under title ¨ Frenchie ¨ and fourth take on exhibited in 1954 also directed by George Marshall with Eddie Murphy and Marie Blanchard in similar characters to James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich.

If you are after a good Western, avoid this for pity's sake. In a genre where clichés are part of the territory, this one packs so many into the first five minutes that nothing it has to say thereafter is going to carry much weight. Jimmy Stewart is the only reason to watch Destry Rides Again. That buttoned down charm is always great to watch, and the character is a good role for him in many ways. The device of him telling stories about his friends as little parables works well in these capable hands. Marlene Dietrich, by contrast, is awful: her singing, her looks and her acting made me ask why she was ever in movies. It's the queasy attempted mix of comedy, musical and Western that really sink this film I think. In the end, it doesn't do any of them well.

Destry Rides Again (1939) A brilliantly made spoof of the early American Western. This came out at a strange time for this kind of reflective comedy, because in fact the Western was just this year having a revival with three serious Westerns including John Ford's legendary Stagecoach. But the fixtures of this kind of movie were well in place--the barroom brawl, the bad men and their guns, the good sheriff coming to the rescue, the sweet untainted woman and the quasi-whorehouse type woman, and of course the final shootout. It's all here. And it's a wild ride done with subtlety, a difficult combination to pull off. It's fun to see this movie and then compare to the later generation of take-offs and spoofs that take themselves much more seriously--the spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s. These, too, used all the clichés of the Western to make an amusing reference to those types. The reason why those movies worked so well, and why Destry does, too, is that these are attractive archetypes. We see ourselves in these people, somehow, and yet not too closely. We identify with them (especially Jimmy Stewart the sheriff and Marlene Dietrich the bad woman with a good heart who can sing, too) and yet know they are all artifice, just as in a play. The illusion of reality is damped down by the excess and the fun, and the obvious exaggerations. As for director George Marshall, he's a hardened Hollywood veteran most famous, perhaps, for a long string of golf movies (yes golf, the sport). But his expertise, and his willingness to go for broke with scenes involving dozens or even hundreds of people, and to use the camera vigorously, and to realize he had two of the greatest actors he could ask for (Stewart toward the beginning of his career, and Dietrich still a great star though cast against her normal romanticized type from the early 1930s) is phenomenal. You'll shake your head and laugh at the same time. In fact, it is the chemistry of the two stars that gives the movie surprising depth. It's not just a farce. It talks about pacifism just as World War II is brewing. And it suggests something about true love as much as carnal attraction. All while the world is exploding around the two leads, almost literally, as you'll see. And whatever might happen on screen by the end, it's fun to know that the two had a real affair offscreen, with some hush hush scandal to follow years later. Watch this and laugh and maybe even cry a little. Great stuff.