The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw

source: The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw

Copyright 1958 by Daniel M. Angel Productions. Released through 20th Century-Fox. New York opening at the Paramount: 13 March 1959. U.S. release: January 1959. U.K. release: 21 December 1958. Australian release: 30 April 1959. Sydney opening at the Embassy. 9,900 feet. 110 minutes. (Cut to 102 minutes in Australia and the USA). SYNOPSIS: In the mid-19th century, the English gunsmith house of Tibbs is in a state of near-bankruptcy. Consequently, Jonathan Tibbs decides to save the family business by journeying to that part of the world where guns are most popular — the American West. Armed with samples and confidence, he arrives in the lawless town of Fractured Jaw, checks in at Kate's Hotel and Saloon, and confounds one and all with his impeccable attire and speech, his tea-drinking habit, and his incredibly fast draw. NOTES: Number 7 of the ten top attractions at the U.K. box-office for 1959. Although credited only for her rendition of the title tune, Connie Francis looped Miss Mansfield's songs as well. COMMENT: Heavy-handed but mildly funny western spoof, this variant of "Ruggles of Red Gap" and/or "Fancy Pants" received mixed reviews from the line-up of professional critics. I felt the movie offers little that's fresh or new, but (at least in its American version) it moves at a reasonable clip and is nothing if not enthusiastically enacted — especially by the colorfully costumed Jayne Mansfield. OTHER VIEWS: Scarcely anything has been added to the old, old tune, and the few variations attempted show little inventiveness and quite a lot of dawdling. The result is that most of the humor is forced and the effect is pretty much that of a man laughing at his own joke. — Paul V. Beckley in the New York Herald Tribune. Not to be missed... Who ever greenlighted the starring combo of Jayne Mansfield and Kenneth More has done themselves and filmgoers a good turn. These two effervescent personalities merge like bacon and eggs, and the result is a wave of yocks... Walsh has directed this cheerful skit about the wild, woolly west with vigor and pace... Miss Mansfield gives More hearty support, looks attractive in a big, bosomy way and sings two or three numbers very well. — Variety.

By all means, not perfect, the story is rather predictable in that it uses the somewhat over-used fish-out-of-water formula, and there are one or two scenes due to the chemistry, the effectiveness of which is varied throughout the course of the film, of the leads feel laboured. However, The Sheriff of Fractured is a lovingly filmed movie with cinematography, sets and costumes set in the grand tradition of the genre that look beautiful, and there is a witty soundtrack including the touching In the Valley of Love. The script made me laugh and smile, Walsh's direction is great, Kenneth More is at his most diffident, Jayne Mansfield is appealing and sexy and it isn't everyday you see Sidney James as a drunk. So overall, it is a flawed, but fun and charming film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Raoul Walsh had an interesting career, going from acting as John Wilkes Booth in D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation to directing High Sierra, They Died With Their Boots On and The Naked and the Dead. Here, he travels to Spain - and Pinewood Studios - to shoot a comedy western with Kenneth More and Jayne Mansfield. Originally intended to be a movie with Clifton Webb and Marilyn Monroe, this ended up being part of a three-movie deal 20th Century Fox made to film three movies in England. The studio was pushing Mansfield to take over for the temperamental Marilyn Monroe, but she upset execs by getting pregnant with her second child and missed days of work. There's a decent supporting cast - Willaim Campbell (Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte), Robert Morley (Theater of Blood) and Bruce Cabot (King Kong) - and some great CinemaScope visuals. It's a trifle about More playing a British man who ends up becoming a sherriff and Mansfield as a tough saloon owner. Mansfield sings a few songs here, but that's really the voice of Connie Francis.

Kenneth Moore usually had a very acute sense of his acting limitations and the type of appearance which would use the talents he undoubtedly had to the full. He was thus usually very enjoyable to watch, ('Genevieve', 'The Thirty Nine Steps'. 'A Night to Remember'), and, in one case, (in terms of films - his later TV appearances, such as in the first BBC 'Forsythe Saga' is something different), his talents coincided exactly with the demands of the film to produce a really good, memorable film, ('Reach for the Sky'). Unfortunately, his usual caution failed him entirely in this sad excuse of an 'entertainment' movie. It is lavishly produced on an epic, Cinemascopic scale, (and one presumes his fee for appearing was commensurate). It has one of the best directors in the field, (Roaul Walsh), and a stock of standard 1950s British support characters, (inevitably including Sidney James), in attendance as well. Beyond this, however, it has nothing at all going for it. The essential humorous 'core' of the film, (the incongruity of Moore's upper class Englishman amongst the crudities, (and what, even by the 1950s, were becoming stereotypical film clichés), of the 'Wild West'), wears off after about the first fifteen minutes and becomes increasingly tiresome as the film progresses. The 'plot' is wafer-thin and recourse has to be made to inserting songs, (which have not worn at all well over the decades and are all instantly forgettable), in order to 'entertain' the audience. To make matters worse, the background scenery does not even LOOK like 'the Wild West', (but, rather, a cross between the Yorkshire Dales and North Wales). Finally, (oh dear, oh dear), there is Miss Mansfield's 'performance'. Full marks for effort and determination, but whether it is through trying to comprehend what she is saying in her 'southern drawl', (which seems to change almost from scene to scene, but still remains largely impenetrable for long stretches of the film), or from listening to her warbling attempts to get through the aforementioned songs, one unfortunately just has to draw the conclusion that she simply 'did not have it' in terms of being a star to carry a film in a lead role. Her physical resemblance to Munroe is obviously a strong one, but, as this film shows all too clearly, was just not enough in itself to build a career on in films. Overall, then, a sad affair and waste of talents and resources through inappropriate usage. One for passing a couple of hours if one is really ill/down in the dumps on a wet afternoon and just wants something to 'pass the time' before tea, but is unlikely ever to want to see again.

Jayne Mansfield plays Kate, boarding house owner, and into town comes Kenneth Moore, a gun salesman from England. Not only are the songs by Jayne dubbed, it sounds like some of the lines are too. Starts out slow, gets better as it goes along. The mayor and the Indian chief steal the movie. There are a few gags and laughs, sort of an early version of Mel Brooks "Blazing Saddles". Nothing real good in "Special Features" on the DVD, but I guess that's due to the fact it was filmed in 1958. No real surprises here... your run of the mill spaghetti western with some laughs thrown in. According to the DVD liner notes included, this was filmed in England and in Spain (?) Too bad they didn't do more with Robert Morley; could have spiced things up more.

A film with an extraordinary pedigree,a cast of fine actors,directed by one of the true mavericks of the studio system who worked with D.W.Griffith,"The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw"is a gem of a movie.So artless that is of course extremely artful,what appears as serendipity is in fact the result of good pros getting together and having a lot of fun whilst never taking their eye off the ball. Mr Kenneth More is immaculate as the Englishman Abroad,so well - mannered,well - dressed and well - spoken that in a lesser actor those characteristics might have seemed a parody,but Mr More,all breeze and confidence carries it off perfectly.America may no longer be a British colony but he doesn't have to believe it if he doesn't want to. He takes up with Miss Jayne Mansfield,the owner of the saloon and very innocent and appealing she is too.In 1958 her career was reaching its peak - if I may use such an expression - ,a young,winsome and tragically ill - fated actress who very few took seriously but who is - in my opinion - due for a reassessment in an era when women's achievements are considered in contexts other than those of their physical attributes. Mr Bruce Cabot and Mr Henry Hull are on hand to add authenticity to what is a fish - out - of - water comedy.Unlike other Western Brits (English Bob,say,or John Cleese in "Silverado")Mr More does not have a nasty streak.He is simply the old - fashioned decent English chap finding himself in a tricky situation a long way from home and muddling his way through. I have no idea why "The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw" was made,whether Mr Walsh owed the studio a picture of whether Rank thought Mr More's career might benefit from more U.S. exposure or whether somebody just thought it seemed like a good idea at the time,but after fifty years I'm happy to report that to me it still seems like a good idea,and with the passing of time it has become a funny rather touching movie that will please lovers of the Western because it is respectful of the genre and lovers of innocent beautifully played comedy because it is respectful of that genre too.

Kenneth More plays Jonathan Tibbs, a rich upper class guy with little sense...or so it appears when the story begins. For some reason, the rich guy owns a gun company and they are in financial straits....so he decides to head to the American west because as the English all know, those cowboys love their guns. On the way there, Jonathan begins having all sorts of crazy adventures. First, he captures a local Indian chief and then spares his life. Second, when he arrives in town, he is mistaken for a gunslinger and suddenly this results in him being appointed sheriff AND everyone apparently now wanting to kill him. How is this clueless guy going to manage to avoid being killed AND woo the local hot babe (Jayne Mansfield)? I was very surprised by this film. The title sounds pretty dumb but the story is charming....a comedy but with many cute moments instead of laugh out loud ones. A cute parody of the Hollywood version of the old west, instead of debunking all the American myths about the west, it runs with them and results in a fun time for the viewers. By the way, the singing appears to actually be done by Mansfield, as later in life she had a nightclub act and sang for guests.

Two stars for Ms Mansfield's obvious charms (oh for 3D!). More was (and knew he was) an actor of limited range, essentially he played himself and did it well. His early work in the "Doctor" films is pleasing and his skillful creation of Douglas Bader in "Reach for The Sky" made the man a lot more charming than he REALLY was. He was in effect, to the 1950's what Hugh Grant was to the 1990's: a soft spoken inoffensive Englishman, well bred and thrust into situations where his good breeding kept him afloat. In this "Western" he is the scion of a British gunmaker sent to the Wild West to sell the companies wares. Let's be frank, More was TOO OLD for the part, although trim and dark haired he was clearly middle aged and the "Hugh Grant schtick" of youth and lack of worldly experience looks foolish. Ms Mansfield looks decorative and the cinch waisted outfits certainly display her "talents" - sadly her acting is mostly wooden and distracted and the lack of chemistry between the leads is obvious. The distraction of seeing so many British actors mugging, and mangling their vowels to sound American just reinforces my opinion that this is a dud and should be shelved next to "Space Mutiny" (see elsewhere)

Good family film - something particularly wholesome about Kenneth More - and I don't want to 'rain on the parade' (More is one of my favourite actors and 1958 one of my favourite years - see also: A Night to Remember', More et al 1958). But there does seem to be a lack of chemistry between More (Jonathan Tibbs) and Jayne Mansfield (Kate) - notwithstanding that this is primarily a spoof-western comedy rather than a RomCom. Did they actually get on? Some of the scenes with just the two of them are painfully laboured. But, yes, the film (due in no small part to the laconic ease of More) is entirely watchable, and the production values - even for this lightweight film - are as high as you would expect from any mainstream Hollywood film of the day.