Destry Rides Again

Most helpful review Destry Rides Again

• How the West would have been won - If Jimmy Stewart was there!

   

  By Billy from Edinburgh, Scotland , 25 May 2007

  [Highly rated reviewer]

  Can anybody show me a film which James Stewart isn’t excellent in?
  
  It seems that no matter what stage in his career you look at, or which character he is deciding to play - even if that character is basically himself - he just nails it to the wall and commands your attention to the screen like some kind of feel-good magnet.
  
  Here, in Destry Rides Again, Jimmy takes the lead role as a small town Deputy brought in to clean up the streets of Bottleneck, and he plays it with all the grace and style of the screen legend he later became. His turn as a law man who doesn’t like guns - on account of his father getting shot in the back - is laced with such irreverent humour and sideways nods to the audience about his own ability and knowledge of the situation, that you are immediately drawn into his orbit, fully confident of his somewhat unorthodox style of peace-keeping. You can’t help but smile and laugh along as one by one the hoodlums of Bottleneck square up to ‘No-Guns Destry’ and get their come-uppance. Even the fiery dame that is Marlene Dietrich can’t stay corrupted in the face of such dynamism. She falls, just like the rest of us, for Jimmy’s charm and infatiguable style, ultimately showing herself up to be just another girl who wants to be loved for herself.
  
  But that’s not all; Destry is supported magnificently by all manner of quirky independent characters who try their hardest to steal the scenes away from him. Wash, the old town drunk and new town Sheriff sparks magnificently off of Destry in his role as mentor/student. Kent, the vindictive saloon owner and arch enemy is deliciously villainous as he tries to exert his authority. Callahan, the hen-pecked Russian cowboy wannabe, delivers excellent off-handed comedy turns alongside his wife (and his pants); and of course Frenchy, played superbly by Dietrich, is viciously callous, enticingly alluring and deliberately malleable in such an exciting fashion, that you forget there’s no real romance in the story.
  
  The great thing about Destry Rides Again, is that it never takes itself too seriously. It is after all a quasi-spoof of the Western genre and sits with its tongue firmly in cheek the whole way through. We are to understand that the characters are stereotypes and the scenarios over the top; just watch the ‘Catfight’ scene if you need any evidence of what I am saying. It is this however, that really makes the film and you realise quickly that it is preferable to laugh your way through the action than ponder the meaning of it all.
  
  The script is so tight and the acting so masterfully done that you barely notice the ninety minutes slip by. You are too busy engaging with Destry and laughing at his support that you find there’s no time to be disappointed at a lack of genuine drama or build-up of atmosphere. It is all in there, sometimes in very small quantities, but is run at such a pace and buffeted by such great dialogue you hardly notice what’s missing. The brawl scenes are hectic and ferocious, with guns blazing and bottles flying at an extraordinary rate, and this all adds to the fun of the movie.
  
  If there was ever a movie to sit down with the whole family to watch on a Sunday afternoon then this is it. There’s enough action to keep the kids amused, there’s good snappy dialogue and great character play for the adults and some great wholesome nostalgia along with a healthy dollop of moral virtue to hook in the older generation. I’ve not enjoyed a ninety minutes like this in a long time. Pure cinema history.

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