The Gunfight at Dodge City

 

 

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Allied Artists Pictures presents "THE GUNFIGHT AT DODGE CITY" (1959) (81 min/Color) -- Starring Joel McCrea, Julie Adams, John McIntire, Nancy Gates, Richard Anderson & Walter Coy

Directed by Joseph M. Newman

With Gene Barry already riding the TV western range as legendary gunfighter-turned-lawman Bat Masterson, independent producer Walter Mirisch hired Joel McCrea to play a rather less-dandified version in this Cinemascope western. When his brother Ed (Harry Lauter) is cowardly shot in the back and killed, Bat accepts the offer to run for county sheriff against the corrupt Jim Regan (Don Haggerty), only to learn that the real killer is someone entirely different. Not wanting the job of sheriff in the first place but only accepting to please a lady friend, Pauline Howard (Julie Adams), Bat willingly breaks the law to aid an old friend (Walter Coy), almost losing both his position and his life in the ensuing shootout.

Special footnote: -- Julie Adams and McCrea do a great job. Their performances are really the chief reasons for you to watch this. McCrea was a subtle and effective actor, and here he foreshadows his work in the legendary "Ride The High Country" a few years later. Joel was in his latish fifties when the film was made, and it would have been a sad swan song for an usually-watchable actor; thank goodness he went onto make "Ride the High Country". This was to be the final film made by McCrea in his career. Good thing, Peckinpah saved him from this sad goodbye.

BIOS:
1. Joseph M. Newman (Director)
Date of Birth: 07 August 1909 - Logan, Utah
Date of Death: 23 January 2006 - Simi Valley, California

2. Joel McCrea
Date of Birth: 5 November 1905 - South Pasadena, California
Date of Death: 20 October 1990 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

3. Julie Adams [aka: Betty May Adams]
Date of Birth: 17 October 1926 - Waterloo, Iowa
Date of Death: Still Living

4. John McIntire [aka: John Herrick McIntire]
Date of Birth: 27 June 1907 - Spokane, Washington
Date of Death: 30 January 1991 - Pasadena, California

5. Nancy Gates [aka: Nancy Jane Gates]
Date of Birth: 1 February 1926 - Dallas, Texas
Date of Death: Still Living

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 81 min on VHS/DVD ~ Allied Artists Pictures ~ (May 13, 2008)

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