Dallas, ville frontière

See it – Although this may not be considered one of Gary Cooper's best movies, it is certainly an entertaining western. He plays a wrongfully accused outlaw who trades places with the incompetent marshal, impersonating him in order to bring his arch enemy to justice. This is by no means a comedy, but it has that light-hearted, "Errol Flynnish" feel to it that characterized so many films in the old days. For instance, there are certain things that you just wouldn't do in real life; such as throwing a bullet into the fire to distract someone, or stepping on a cat's tail so that the yelp will cause your enemy to show himself. But it's all in good fun. The down side is that a large quantity of action scenes doesn't always mean they are quality scenes. There aren't any cool, memorable gunfights or explosions in this one. But it's a good way to spend an hour and a half. 3 out of 5 action rating.

I don't think I've ever watched a good cast work harder to make a bad script work. Which means the directing had to be good too. And, for the period, the production values are pretty high too. But the real candidate for lynching was the writer, not the bad guy in the movie.

I would have scored it lower but for the laughs I got out of the woefully bad dialog and virtually every cast member's heroic efforts to keep a straight face while delivering their bits. If you're a Gary Cooper fan, or just like to listen to Ruth Roman's sexy husky voice, the rest is worth a watch for just how funnily bad it is. Funnier than many an intentional western parody.

The only reason I watched this film was because of Gary Cooper. While maybe not the nicest person in the world in real life, he was a wonderful actor and I'd watch even one of his weaker films just to see him act. And, as usual, he was very good (though a bit old to win the girl at the end of the film).

The problem, then, is that despite all of Cooper's talent, the film is just a very ordinary and run-of-the-mill cowboy film. I could EASILY have imagined almost any other actor being able to do Cooper's role and the film would STILL have been mediocre. It's because so many elements of the plot just seem too familiar and too clichéd.

About the only thing that stood out was the interesting character played by Leif Erickson---who oddly received such low billing in the film even though he was one of the main characters! The idea of an Eastern "dude" coming West to impress his girl was kind of funny and he did provide a few cute moments and an interesting sidekick, of sorts, for Cooper.

Aside from that, the film is imminently skipable. It's a film that only Cooper addicts or B-quality Western addicts should watch--there are frankly too many better films out there worth your time.

Former Confederate soldier Blayde Hollister (Gary Cooper) is looking for revenge against a group of crooked carpetbaggers. Wild Bill Hickok is the law and he shoots Hollister dead. It turns out that the two friends had faked the incident. They allow in the new Federal Marshal Martin Weatherby (Leif Erickson). Hollister and Weatherby head off together with Hollister taking Weatherby's identity.

Gary Cooper is doing his High Noon thing. I'm looking for something much more brutal. He should be laying waste to anyone remotely connected to the incident. This needs to get much darker considering it's for his family. I also don't like the loudmouth reb during the shoot-out. He is so clueless that it becomes annoying. Otherwise, this is fine.

Dallas stars Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, Steve Cochran, Barbara Payton & Raymond Massey. It's directed by Stuart Heisler, photography is from Ernest Haller & pen duties fell to John Twist. Produced out of Warner Brothers, Dallas is vividly filmed in Technicolor out of the Iverson & Warner ranches in California. Very much a film with its tongue firmly in cheek, the film is a throwback to the Westerns of yore that exist without pretensions or deep penetrative meanings.

The plot sees Cooper's Civil War renegade, Blayde "Reb" Hollister, fake his own death so as to kill off his reputation and to free himself for the pursuit into Dallas of the brothers who massacred his family. In essence a routine plot, Twist's story is perked up along the way by many a fun and exciting diversion. There's role reversals, dandy fashions, horseback pursuits, shoot outs, a love triangle, vigorous dialogue and deft little twists to keep the piece purely from painting it by numbers.

Cooper seems to be enjoying himself too, which further enhances the feel good factor on offer. It's true he isn't really asked to do anything more than be a laconic dude on a mission. But when called on for action duties, he delivers the goods that his fans have come to expect during his successful career. The villains entertain (particularly Steve Cochran's vile and dopey Bryant Marlow) because each have their own little peccadilloes to keep them from over familiar blandness. The two ladies of the piece look gorgeous and hold up well in amongst the machismo, while the high production value allows Haller to really treat the eyes with the lush Technicolor and involving camera work around the locations.

It has ideals to being an "A" list Oater does Dallas, something it just can't quite attain. But it's not for lack of trying and the end result is one of pure entertainment, that, in truth, should be enjoyed on a cold winters day when the viewer needs a pick me up. 7/10