Sheriff of Tombstone

By 1941 the formula for low budget series westerns had long been perfected, but results varied. Sheriff of Tombstone is an excellent choice for an introduction to the genre of B westerns.

The best actor of the bunch, as usual, was George "Gabby" Hayes. His character may have had the same name from one movie to the next, but not the same purpose in the story. He could be a wise old cow puncher, an old ranch foreman, aloof sidekick, or even an outlaw. For a pleasant change he was made into a lawyer, "Judge Whitaker" for this picture. Add to that a wife and daughter, which is unusual for not only Gabby, but sidekicks in general. Not bumbling around as a helpless sidekick in this one, he was instead a strong backup gun for Roy's character, Brett Starr.

A fine touch on a well made movie comes during an interchange between Gabby and Granny Carson when she answers Gabby with a snappy, "You're dern tootin'!" The reaction on Gabby's face is one of surprise at being the recipient of one of his own signature lines.

Having cleaned up Dodge City, Roy Rogers heads to Tombstone to go into business with his brothers, dragging Judge Gabby Hayes with him. On arrival, he is mistaken for hired gun Harry Woods, hired by mayor Addison Richards to drive Zeffie Tilbury and family from their silver mine; that done, Richards will pick it up and own all the silver around. But Roy plays fair, which impresses Zeffie's grand daughter, Elyse Knox. Then Woods shows up in town.

You have ehoes of the gunfight at the OK Corral here, but it's just a vague relationship in the set-up as offered by director Joe Kane. Saloon girl Sally Payne gets as much singing as Roy, and there's a nice role for Jay Novello. It's a pleasant addition to the rapidly expanding corpus of the man who would eventually be called the King of the Cowboys.

Roy Rogers (as Brett Starr) gets out of Dodge, with some of his brother's family, to become "Sheriff of Tombstone". Along the way, he meets old up with old pal George "Gabby" Hayes (as Gabby), now a lawyer. Sally Payne returns as Gabby's daughter Queenie. Mr. Rogers and company find lawlessness in Tombstone, led by corrupt Mayor Addison Richards and wayward Sheriff Harry Woods.

Jay Novello steals away with all acting honors as John Anderson aka Joe Martinez; Mr. Novello is dialect-able, makes terrific getaways - and, he is more fun to watch than the cute kids, the granny, and the love interest for Rogers. Novello's versatility is very much appreciated in this film. By the way, the film closes with a suggestion Rogers is about to do some major neckin' with Elyse Knox (as Mary). Rogers and Ms. Payne share in a light, pleasant soundtrack, highlighted by Rogers' "Sons of the Western Foil" and Payne's "Two-Gun Pete".

****** Sheriff of Tombstone (1941) Joseph Kane ~ Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Jay Novello

Retiring as Sheriff of Dodge City, Roy comes to Tombstone to be with his brother, only to find he's dead and the town overcome with lawlessness. He's almost immediately mistaken for a hired gun, called upon by crooked businessmen to be the new Sheriff.

The Sheriff Of Tombstone has all the things you'd expect from a Roy Rogers western, mainly some good action scenes and a few catchy songs but not much else, making this barely adequate entertainment and not one of his best adventures.

Roy and especially George "Gabby" Hayes are good, as usual. I just wish this were a better vehicle.

In Sheriff Of Tombstone Roy Rogers plays a Wyatt Earp like character who has quit being the marshal of Dodge City and is going west to Tombstone to be with his brothers and settle down in business. Problem is that Tombstone is a town in bad need of taming. The outlaws as headed by Addison Richards see it that way also and they've sent for a notorious outlaw played by perennial western villain Harry Woods to see it's tamed their way.

But Woods meets with a funny accident on the way, courtesy of Gabby Hayes no less who beats him to the draw. This may have been Gabby's finest hour as a western sidekick. Roy arrives ahead of Woods and Richards and his henchmen think Roy is Woods.

Of course that doesn't last long, but Rogers is resourceful and you know the bad guys will be brought in line before the end of the final reel.

Given the constraints of Republic Pictures budget for a B film, this one is not bad for its type. Elyse Knox who became wife of Tom Harmon and mother of Mark Harmon is the leading lady, she's the granddaughter of the head of a clan of mine owners who Richards and his friends are trying to squeeze out of business. Sally Payne is also around in a role as a spunky saloon girl who does a little espionage for Roy on the side. She gets almost as many musical numbers as Roy in this film.

Definitely one for Roy and his devoted legion of fans.