Sunday, May 31, 2020

Sheriff of Tombstone


Released in 1941, Sheriff of Tombstone stars Roy Rogers and the king of frontier gibberish, George "Gabby" Hayes. The film was directed by Joseph Kane, who actually directed over a dozen Roy Rogers films in the late 30's and 40's.

The basic premise of the film centers around a Dodge City lawman named Bret Starr (played by Rogers) who makes his way West to Tombstone. Once he arrives he's almost immediately mistaken for a man they call "Shotgun" Cassidy. Knowing "Shotgun's" reputation for being a corrupt lawman, Starr plays along and asks his friend Judge Whittaker (played by Hayes) to do the same. It turns out that Cassidy had been offered the job of Sheriff in order to help steal silver from a family who owns a mine just outside of town. Of course, even after the real Cassidy shows up in Tombstone, Starr and Whittaker foil the bad guy's plans.

Overall, I like this one. I like both Rogers and Hayes in the film and, with a runtime of less than one hour, it moves along at a decent pace. Is it one of the all-time great Westerns? No, but it's pretty entertaining. I give it a 3 out of 5.

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