Directed by:
George MarshallCinematography:
Hal MohrCast:
Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart, Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Warren Hymer, Irene Hervey, Una Merkel, Billy Gilbert (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart ride high in this superb comedic western, both a boisterous spoof and a shining example of the genre it is having fun with. As the brawling, rough-and-tumble saloon singer Frenchy, Dietrich shed her exotic love-goddess image and launched a triumphant career comeback, while Stewart cemented his amiable everyman persona, in his first of many westerns, with a charming turn as a gun-abhorring deputy sheriff who uses his wits to bring law and order to the frontier town of Bottleneck. A sparkling script, a supporting cast of virtuoso character actors, and rollicking musical numbers—delivered with unmatched bravado by the magnetic Dietrich—come together to create an irresistible, oft-imitated marvel of studio-era craftsmanship. (Criterion)
(more)Reviews (2)
James Stewart is an American national treasure who should have been appreciated much more during his lifetime. He is one of the most interesting actors, in the sense that you simply enjoy watching him. When he is in a film, you believe that it will be good just because he is in it. And then it turns out to be a good film. Western suited him like everything else, and he turned it into a great comedy that is both masculine and playful, as well as feminine. Marlene plays second fiddle in this.
()
A lot happened in Marlene Dietrich's life between 1937 and 1939. She became an American citizen, ended her association with Paramount, and enjoyed a very long vacation in Europe. She even got a tan while doing it. If she was to return to the imaginary top of Hollywood heaven, she was taking a big risk by starring in a western. But it’s not going to turn out bad if it’s a production with Marlene. After all, Universal had firm footing, and one of its assets was a young Jimmy Stewart. If the perfect rendition of "You've Got That Look" and "The Boys in the Backroom" became another beacon of support, Marlene had little choice but to rise to the top again in her new Shirley Temple-parodying hairstyle, proving to America that a western could never be more American without Europeans.
()
Ads