THE WESTERN TALKS!, 1928-1937

"It would seem that the western, telling its story in terms of action rather than dialogue, should have been relatively unconcerned about the mechanical problems of sound .... [But] because of many actual and alleged problems, including most specifically the recording of the camera's own operational noise, the camera became rooted to the ground and housed in small 'sweat boxes.'

"In the first year or two of sound, the western didn't seem important enough to justify the necessary effort.  Like the big elaborate swashbuckler, it was considered a dead relic of the silents and of no major commercial value." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

The humble B-western dominated western filmmaking in the silent era, just as it did during the first two decades following the advent of sound.

There were some silent westerns produced to appeal to adult audiences, those starring William S. Hart, for example, or directed by a young John Ford, but the biggest star of the era was Tom Mix, whose fast-moving, action-filled films were geared to a younger audience.

Hart

Mix and Tony

But since westerns were by their nature outdoor films, the coming of sound, and its crude sound equipment, meant that most productions would be filmed indoors and consequently the western would be at a disadvantage.

This was true even after IN OLD ARIZONA (Fox, 1928) proved that sound movies could be filmed outdoors.  However, even this film was unavoidably stilted and static because of the problems presented by the sound equipment which dictated that the camera had to remain stationary much of the time.

Warner Baxter is the Cisco Kid in IN OLD ARIZONA

Despite the success of the film, the major studios tended to shy away from outdoor pictures. Under the best of conditions, it was still a cumbersome process when compared to filming on a sound stage.  As it turned out, it would be the Poverty Row studios that rushed in where the majors feared to tread.

Many of them didn't even own a sound stage and didn't possess the necessary financial wherewithal to rent one. For that reason, among others, B-westerns flooded the market.  Many of them were so crudely done and amateurishly acted and unintentionally laughable that they are extremely painful for even lovers of western films to watch today.

But the equipment improved and the films began to slowly but surely improve as studios such as Republic and Monogram began to produce superior B's and some of the majors also got back into the business of making quality B-westerns.

And as equipment improved and logistical problems were worked out the majors also began to film A-westerns geared to adult audiences.  It was still a slow process, however, and did not build up a head of steam until the landmark year of 1939.

As Les Adams and Buck Rainey noted in their detailed study of western movies, Shoot-em-Ups, the years from 1933 to 1937 were boom years for the B-western programmer, but not so much for the A-western.  In fact, almost 500 of the 530 western features shot during the period were B-westerns.

What follows are some of the significant sound A-westerns made prior to 1939, beginning with, naturally:

IN OLD ARIZONA (Fox, 1928)

DIRECTOR: Irving Cummings and Raoul Walsh;  WRITERS: adaptation by Tom Barry based on O. Henry's short story, The Caballero's Way; CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Arthur Edeson

CAST:  Warner Baxter, Edmund Lowe, Dorothy Burgess, Henry Armetta, Frank Campeau, Tom London, J. Farrell MacDonald 


Warner Baxter is the Cisco Kid, a Robin Hood type who robs the rich and gives to the poor.  In O. Henry's short story the Kid was actually an Anglo, but Baxter plays him as a Mexican, unconvincing accent and all, and in the many Cisco Kid films (and TV series) that followed, he would never return to his original Anglo status. 

In the second year of the Academy Awards the film was nominated for five Oscars out of a possible seven.  However, Baxter's award for Best Actor was the film's only winner.  Despite the award it is difficult today to watch his attempt to portray a Latin outlaw without cringing at its stereotypical nature.  Neither his performance nor the film has stood the test of time.


"[It] was of its time -- a romantic triangle melodrama with a gloomy ending." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"[It] was hardly a super-western but was certainly one of style and importance.  Microphones hidden under prairie scrub and foliage enabled naturalistic sound effects to be picked up, and even more than the gunshots and the galloping hooves, the sound of frying bacon impressed itself on viewers and showed that the realistic quality of sound was perhaps just what the western needed. -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"Novelty of first major sound western and first talkie to take microphones outdoors has long worn off, leaving only a stilted performance led by Baxter's dubious Oscar winner as the Cisco Kid." -- Leonard Maltin

THE VIRGINIAN (Paramount, 1929)


DIRECTOR: Victor Fleming;  PRODUCER:
B.P. Schulberg;  WRITERS:  screenplay by Howard Estabrook based on novel by Owen Wister;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: J. Roy Hunt;  Assistant Director: Henry Hathaway;  Dialogue Coach: Randolph Scott

CAST:  Gary Cooper, Walter Huston, Mary Brian, Richard Arlen, Chester Conklin, Eugene Palette, Victor Potel, Ernie Adams, George Chandler, Bob Kortman, Ethan Laidlaw, Lee Meehan, Jack Pennick, Randolph Scott, Charles Stevens


TRAMPAS (Walter Huston):  "Well, who's talkin' to you?"

THE VIRGINIAN (Gary Cooper):  "I'm talkin' to you, Trampas!"

TRAMPAS: "When I want to know anything from you, I'll tell ya, you long-legged son-of-a-...."

THE VIRGINIAN:  [Trampas stops talking abruptly as the Virginian's pistol is pressed against his abdomen.]  "If you want to call me that, smile!"

TRAMPAS:  "With a gun against my belly, I -- I always smile!"
[He grins broadly.]
  

Owen Wister's seminal western novel is perhaps the most famous ever written. It was so popular that it was twice produced as a play and has been the basis for six films, including two during the silent era.  And then there was the popular TV series that ran for nine seasons from 1962 to 1971.

The 1929 film is known primarily for the above scene and the exciting shoot-out conclusion.  An early talkie, it is generally considered to be a classic film and easily the best production of the story.  It also made Gary Cooper a leading man though real stardom would have to wait a few more years. 

"[It] remains a classic: the essential western, still vital, still funny and moving by turns .... Cooper's performance ... still impresses, but Huston and Arlen aren't far behind ... THE VIRGINIAN is fun, and very good; possibly we may never come nearer to the ultimate western." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

".... stiff but interesting western, salvaged in good climactic shoot-out." -- Leonard Maltin

".... verbose, slow and unlikely .... The film's slowness is a direct result of the new slower pace sound brought to the cinema." -- Phil Hardy, The Western



BILLY THE KID (MGM, 1930)

DIRECTOR: King Vidor;  PRODUCER: King Vidor; WRITERS: dialogue by Laurence Stallings, et al. based on book by Walter Noble Burns, The Saga of Billy the Kid; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gordon Avil;  TECHNICAL ADVISER: William S. Hart

CAST: Johnny Mack Brown (as John Mack Brown), Wallace Beery, Kay Johnson, Wyndham Standing, James Marcus, Russell Simpson, Roscoe Ates, Warner Richmond, Hank Bell, Chris-Pin Martin

The story of Billy the Kid had been filmed a couple of times during the silent era, but by the dawn of the sound era he had become an almost forgotten historical character.  That all changed in 1926, however, with the publication of Walter Noble Burns' pseudo-biography, The Saga of Billy the Kid, which was not as much a biography of historical Billy as it was of the legendary Billy.  The bestselling book effectively resurrected Billy from the dustbin of history -- or at least the legendary version, the tragic hero, the misunderstood one who was a victim of circumstances.

Johnny Mack Brown ... brought athletic ability and a pleasing personality to the role of Billy, although it was Wallace Beery as Pat Garrett who gave the best performance, a surprisingly underplayed piece of acting for such an extrovert player and an equally surprising underwritten role. -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

William S. Hart served as technical adviser to the film and this no doubt added an air of authenticity to the production.  And so did the fact that the film was shot on the actual locations of the Lincoln County, New Mexico conflict.

However, the old cowboy actor had to be displeased with the happy ending that was added to the film, one that allowed Billy to ride across the border to enjoy a peaceful life with the woman he loved.  At least that is what happened in the version released in the U.S.; the film distributed in Europe included the historical ending in which Garrett shot and killed Billy.  One supposes that the producers didn't think U.S. audiences would be willing to accept such a tragic conclusion.

It was hoped by all concerned that the film would make a star of Brown and it did, but not the kind that he or the studio envisioned.  

What he did eventually become, after being demoted to Poverty Row for a time, was one of the most pleasing and most durable of all the B-western stars, spending most of his career at Universal and later Monogram.


"The slow film is rather talky but it recaptures the legend of Billy the Kid very nicely .... The movie conveys an overpowering flavor and sense of history, in terms of time and place, rather than the facts ... and the movie was shot on actual locations at a time when they hadn't changed perceptibly." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

" ... the photography is good, but always naturalistic, the characters drab in dress, the buildings ramshackle, the streets dusty .... its script is frankly untidy, yet the film is quite certainly the best and most convincing of all the Billy the Kid sagas." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"[It] is undeniably faithful to the look of the old West, despite its big budget and romantic plot." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"Realistic early talkie western ...; some performances seem highly dated today." -- Leonard Maltin 



THE BIG TRAIL (Fox, 1930)


DIRECTOR: Raoul Walsh;  PRODUCER: Winfield R. Sheehan;  WRITERS: screenplay by Marie Boyle, Jack Peabody, and Florence Postal based on story by Hal G. Evarts;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lucien N. Andriot and Arthur Edeson

CAST: John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel, Tully Marshall, Tyrone Power, Sr., Charles Stevens, Chief Big Tree, Ward Bond, Iron Eyes Cody

"The most important picture ever produced" was apparently not a unanimous opinion.

Great pains were taken to give this wagon train tale an authentic look, but the film is severely hampered by a B-western script and Wayne's lack of experience as an actor.  "The most important picture ever produced" was a failure at the box office where it really counted.

Much has been written about this film due to the fact that it provided John Wayne with his first important role. THE VIRGINIAN made Gary Cooper a leading man, but BILLY THE KID failed to do the same for Johnny Mack Brown. And Wayne, like Johnny Mack, would be relegated to B-westerns, but finally, unlike Johnny Mack, he would finally escape in 1939 when John Ford chose him to star in STAGECOACH (UA, 1939)  
  

But even then, like Cooper before him, the film made him a leading man but true stardom would have to wait several years, in his case, almost a decade, until Howard Hawks cast him in RED RIVER (UA, 1948).  The actor's long and fruitful association with John Ford began after that and eventually he became the biggest star of them all, especially in, but not restricted to, western films.


In a perverse way the failure of THE BIG TRAIL may have worked in the actor's favor. Those years at Monogram and Republic starring in B-westerns are where he finally learned his craft.

"THE BIG TRAIL was a surprising box office failure .... Wayne ... is more than adequate in the lead .... The sequences of the wagons fording rivers and being manhandled up mountains and the action scenes are both realistic and visually breathtaking." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

".... an outstanding early sound epic .... But ... the authenticity of detail and the sweep of history was somewhat let down by a standardized 'B' plot ...." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"The script is poor, but so is Wayne's acting; he is wooden at best, and embarrassingly inept at worst." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"Epic western may seem creaky to some viewers, but remains one of the most impressive early talkies, with its grand sweep and naturalistic use of sound." -- Leonard Maltin

CIMARRON (RKO, 1931)


DIRECTOR: Wesley Ruggles;  PRODUCERS: William LeBaron and Wesley Ruggles;  WRITERS: dialogue by Howard Estabrook based on novel by Edna Ferber;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Edward Cronjager;  SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR: B. Reeves Eason

CAST: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, William Collier, Jr., Nance O'Neil, Roscoe Ates, George F. Stone, Stanley Fields, Edna May Oliver, Bob Kortman, Frank Lackteen, Ethan Laidlaw


CIMARRON is primarily noted for two things: 1) it was the first western to win an Oscar for Best Picture (the second to win the award was DANCES WITH WOLVES [1990], fifty-nine years later) and 2) the Oklahoma land rush scene staged by the incomparable action director B. Reeves Eason.

It was reported that the land rush scene took a week to film, utilizing 5,000 extras, 28 cameramen, 6 still photographers, and 27 camera assistants.

Unfortunately, as critics have noted the land rush is the most exciting thing about the film and it occurs at the beginning.  After that, it is unsurprising that the film had a tendency to lose its momentum.

However, it was nominated for seven Oscars and won three (Best Picture, Art Direction, and Best Writing Adaptation).  Both of its stars, Richard Dix and Irene Dunne (her film debut), were nominated for their performances but neither won.

Dix would go on to star in 18 other westerns, but except for one comedic contemporary western, this would be the only one for Dunne.

It was also the year's biggest money maker at the box office, but because of its expensive production costs it still lost money.  


"The opening spectacle -- the Oklahoma land rush -- is tremendous and it's a solid empire-building movie about the conversion of Indian Territory into the state of Oklahoma and the subsequent building of oil fiefdoms ..., it's soap more than horse opera ... it leaves quite a lot to be desired for modern audiences, and with the climactic land rush at the beginning rather than the end, it has nowhere to go but downhill." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"... it tended to be bogged down in character studies and had the structural flaw of presenting its highlight -- the massive Cherokee Strip land rush sequence at the beginning of the picture .... the film was well-served by Richard Dix and Irene Dunne in the leads [and] many good supporting performers .... " -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of Western Film

"Though Ruggles' spirited direction seems dated now, the outdoor scenes still remain impressive." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

" ... it dates badly, particularly Dix's overripe performance -- but it's still worth seeing." -- Leonard Maltin



LAW AND ORDER (Universal 1932)

Based on W.R. Burnett's novel, Saint Johnson, the film is a thinly disguised fictional treatment of the events leading to and including the shoot-out at Tombstone's O.K. Corral.  It stars Walter Huston as a Wyatt Earp-like character with Harry Carey filling the role of the Doc Holliday-like character.

I earlier reviewed the film and if you wish you can read it here.



THE TEXAS RANGERS (Paramount, 1936) 

DIRECTOR: King Vidor; PRODUCER: King Vidor: WRITERS: screenplay by Louis Stevens from a story by King Vidor and Elizabeth Hill based upon data from Walter Prescott Webb's book, The Texas Rangers; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Edward Cronjager 

CAST: Fred McMurray, Jack Oakie, Jean Parker, Lloyd Nolan, Edward Ellis, Benny Bartlett, Fred Kohler, George "Gabby" Hayes, Stanley Andrews, Irving Bacon, Hank Bell, Neal Hart, Charles Middleton

Three desperadoes (L-R): Fred McMurray, Jack Oakie, Lloyd Nolan; two will eventually go straight.

What a pleasant surprise!  It is a much better film than the attention it has received would indicate.  I had read about it, but had never viewed it until recently.  It wasn't because I didn't want to, it was because I couldn't locate it. But what I had read in works dealing with the history of the western, with one exception, had never given the film much more than a  brief mention.

The exception is A Pictorial History of the Western by William K. Everson.  Everson writes:

"By far the best of Paramount's quartet of mid-thirties epics was THE TEXAS RANGERS and indeed, despite its weaknesses, it is still one of the most enjoyable Paramount super-westerns from any period.  It was directed by King Vidor in 1936, his first western since BILLY THE KID [1930], and a much more polished if gripping work .... [T]he script ... was not ambitious enough ... ostensibly based on Texas Rangers records, but actually it seems to consist of well-known Ranger incidents ... fused with a very standard "B" picture plot which constantly threatens to reduce its epic stature.

"[B]ut Vidor fills his film with enough incident, action, and well-developed characters for these flaws to matter too much.

"Even though not a classic, [it] is an exhilarating western with a refreshing schoolboy vigor."

By the way, the other three Paramount super-westerns that Everson alludes to and ranks below THE TEXAS RANGERS are: THE PLAINSMAN (1936), WELLS FARGO (1937), and THE TEXANS (1938).  Two of them are coming up next and I plan a complete review of THE TEXAS RANGERS in the near future.

Fred McMurray: outlaw?

McMurray and Oakie: Rangers or outlaws?

Gabby: crooked judge?

THE PLAINSMAN (Paramount, 1936)

DIRECTOR: Cecil B. DeMille;  PRODUCERS: Cecil B. DeMille and William H. Pine; WRITERS: screenplay by Waldemar Young, Harold Lamb, and Lynn Riggs; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Victor Milner;  SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR: Arthur Rosson

CAST:  Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Ellison, Charles Bickford, Helen Burgess, Porter Hall, Paul Harvey, John Miljan, Fred Kohler, Harry Woods, Anthony Quinn, Francis McDonald, George "Gabby" Hayes, Fuzzy Knight, Stanley Andrews, Francis Ford, Irving Bacon, Hank Bell, Monte Blue, Lane Chandler, Bud Osborne, Charles Stevens, Chief Thundercloud, Hank Worden

Gary Cooper is Wild Bill Hickok, Jean Arthur is Calamity Jane, James Ellison is Buffalo Bill Cody, and Cecil B. DeMille is in charge of what was his first western epic.  The film should have benefited from its big budget, but it didn't always. The director always preferred shooting his epics indoors and never liked spending much time on location, to the detriment of this film and others he helmed.  Consequently, the film is marred by phony studio "exteriors," back projection shots, and actors riding mock-up horses. In fact, most of the outdoor scenes, and not just the action scenes, were shot by second unit directors, in this case, Arthur Rosson.

Wild Bill gets the drop on crooked gambler

But the audiences of the '30's didn't seem to mind and it was a popular, if not critical, success.  And the good cast is able to overcome its shortcomings to some degree and the end result is entertaining.

Jean Arthur is Calamity Jane

James Ellison is Buffalo Bill Cody

And, by the way, Porter Hall is Jack McCall, the dastardly coward who dispatches Wild Bill in a Deadwood saloon, shooting him from behind, of course. Oh, and another thing, if you are interested in the true history of the three principal characters it would be best to look elsewhere.

"... for all its attention to petty historical detail ... it plays fast and loose with history .... Slow moving and overly romantic by modern standards in its depiction of westward expansion, [it] remains an entertaining spectacle." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"[W]hile a big popular success, it was hardly a good picture.  Its script was heavy-handed and obvious, and far too much of the film was spoiled by DeMille's over-fondness for shooting as much of his pictures as possible within the confines of the studio.  Nevertheless ... the production as a whole was big and certainly entertaining." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

" ... performances by most of the players are spirited.  But its juvenile, an overblown programmer.  [It] isn't much of a movie but it did establish Cooper as the archetypal western hero." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"Typical DeMille hokum, a big, outlandish western .... About as authentic as BLAZING SADDLES [WB, 1974], but who cares -- it's still good fun." -- Leonard Maltin



WELLS FARGO (Paramount, 1937)

DIRECTOR: Frank Lloyd;  PRODUCERS: Howard Estabrook and Frank Lloyd; WRITERS: screenplay by Paul Schofield, Gerald Geraghty, and Frederick J. Jackson based on story by Stuart N. Lake;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Theodor Sparkuhl

CAST: Joel McCrea, Bob Burns, Frances Dee, Lloyd Nolan, Ralph Morgan, Johnny Mack Brown, Porter Hall, Robert Cummings, Harry Davenport, Frank Conroy, Peggy Stewart, Ernie Adams, Hank Bell, Lane Chandler, Richard Denning, Jack Perrin, Hal Taliaferro, Harry Woods

Joel McCrea and Frances Dee were Mr. and Mrs. McCrea in real life.  

There's a lot of soap in this hoss opera, a nation-building epic about the formation of Wells & Fargo, Co. McCrea portrays a troubleshooter who is instrumental in the company's efforts to establish an overland freight and mail service. The film covers the years represented by the California Gold Rush, the Pony Express, and the Civil War. This requires the stars to age several decades and suffer through many trials and tribulations, including strains on family life, during those eventful times.

Before all is said and done the story evolves, make that devolves, into more of a costume drama than western adventure.  My advice is to skip this one and to watch Four Faces West, a much more satisfying western starring McCrea and Dee. 

However, WELLS FARGO was McCrea's first starring role in a western and there would come a time when he would devote his entire career to starring in the genre.  And those of us who love westerns (and that should be everyone) can grateful for that.


"[Joel McCrea] proved at home in the saddle here, and hence his selection as the star of UNION PACIFIC [Paramount] two years later ... but the film can be a bore unless you are in a tolerant mood." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

" ... a long, carefully made, but stiff, dull and practically actionless movie, long on historical data, romance, and interior scenes, short on excitement and exteriors." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"Paramount's production values are solid enough, though Lloyd wisely eschews any crowd scenes, but the material doesn't stretch to the 115 minutes' running time." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

LAW AND ORDER (Universal, 1932)

  Why is this woman prominently featured in this poster?  Only one woman, portrayed by Lois Wilson, has a speaking part, but no listing in the credits. She portrays a lady of obviously low repute who speaks just one line.  That's it.  The only other women in the film appear in a crowd scene, but speak no lines. 

DIRECTOR: Edward L. Cahn;  PRODUCER: Carl Laemmle, Jr.;  WRITERS: adaptation by John Huston and Tom Reed based on W. R. Burnett's novel, Saint Johnson; Cinematographer: Jackson Rose

CAST: Walter Huston, Harry Carey, Russell Hopton, Raymond Hatton, Ralph Ince, Harry Woods, Richard Alexander, Russell Simpson, Alphonse Ethier, Andy Devine, Hank Bell, Walter Brennan, Lois Wilson


THE REVIEWS.
"Exceptional Western that takes a familiar story...and reworks it with style but no flourishes...stark, realistic, with knockout finale." -- Leonard Maltin

"[I]t's a strikingly spare, bleakly downbeat film which hammers home its thesis -- that law and order involves a lot of killing...." Edward Buscombe, The BFI Companion to the Western

"The austere tone, the traditional O.K. Corral shootout notwithstanding, is all the more impressive considering the cheerful vacuity of most Westerns being made at the time. -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"There was a great deal of tension but little traditional physical action throughout the bulk of the film, which literally exploded in its last reel...." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film 

"It's familiar now, but beautifully done, very tense, its atmosphere obviously indebted to William S. Hart....this may well be the definitive Wyatt Earp movie; at least it vies for the honor with MY DARLING CLEMENTINE -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide


Those are rather impressive reviews of a 1932 western written by modern critics.  But modern viewers might be puzzled by all that acclaim.  It is a slow film with most of the story taking place in town and much of that indoors.  At times it comes off clunky and stagey.  But it was 1932.

William S. Hart and a few others had made westerns for adult audiences during the silent era, but the biggest star of that era was Tom Mix, whose fast-moving, action-filled films were geared to a younger audience.  By 1932, Tom, now in his early fifties, was starring in his first sound series which, as it turned out, was his last.  But his kind of western movie still predominated in the films of such notables as Hoot Gibson, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy, and Buck Jones.

William S. Hart and "Fritz"

Tom Mix and "Tony"

They were entertaining films to be sure, and though they were not geared to an adult audience, I don't quite agree with Edward Buscombe's characterization of "cheerful vacuity." Yes, they were cheerful, but they were also entertaining and gave the front row crowd heroes to cheer and to look up to. There's something to be said for that.

But since William S. Hart never made the transition to sound, westerns produced for adult audiences were few and far between. That fact, as Buscombe notes, is an important reason why LAW AND ORDER is viewed so favorably.
  

Buck Jones and "Silver"

THE PLOT.
Frame Johnson (Huston), along with his brother, Luther (Hopton) and two pals, Brandt (Carey) and Deadwood (Hatton), ride into Tombstone. 

Frame is soon recognized as the famous lawman who cleaned up several Kansas cow towns.  So spotless is his reputation that he has earned the nickname of "Saint" Johnson.

Tombstone is under the collective thumbs of the Northrup brothers (Ince, Alexander and Woods) who control everything in town and the surrounding area. In fact, just as Frame and his compadres arrive the Northrups are in the process of rigging the election of sheriff in order to give the office to one of their henchmen (Ethier).

Judge Williams (Simpson) and other citizens offer the job of town marshal to Frame. Since it is obvious that the town needs a strong law and order man in the office he reluctantly agrees to accept the job.  This of course places him in direct conflict with the newly elected sheriff and his bosses, the Northrups.  To assist him he deputizes his brother and their two friends.

At one point, Frame faces down a mob that is about to lynch simple-minded Johnny Kinsman (Devine) who accidentally killed a deputy sheriff.  He argues that Johnny should be tried and if convicted he should hang legally rather than being lynched which was the standard procedure in Tombstone.  In the subsequent trial Johnny was convicted and he did hang -- legally.

In his position as deputy marshal, Luther is forced to kill Kurt Northrup (Alexander) in self-defense.  The remaining two brothers retaliate by ambushing and killing Brandt.  This leads to the final shootout.

Luther, Deadwood, and Frame heading to a date with the Northrups

It takes place in a dimly lit barn and only one person survives. The Northrups and their henchmen are killed, but so are Frame's brother, Luther, and their pal, Deadwood.  

A distraught Frame rides out of town alone.

The screenplay was based on W.R. Burnett's novel, Saint Johnson.  It was a thinly disguised fictional account of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday (Carey's Brandt is the Doc-like character) and the shootout at Tombstone's O.K. Corral.  I almost wrote "the legendary" Wyatt Earp and "the famous shootout," but that would not have been true at the time Burnett's novel was published in 1930.  

Earp did not enter the public consciousness outside the southwestern U.S. until Stuart Lake published Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal in 1931.  Although it was a highly fictionalized biography it seemed to be authentic since the author had the co-operation of Wyatt who consented to being interviewed.  As fate would have it, Wyatt never read the book since he died the year before its publication.

The book was a best seller that created the image of a western lawman who courageously put his life on the line almost daily in the pursuit of justice and the enforcement of law and order. Today the book will be found on the fiction shelf -- or if it isn't, it should be.

But the point is, Burnett enjoyed even more latitude in his book than Lake did precisely because his was a novel and he didn't even use the names of the Earps or Doc Holliday.  And it is doubtful that very many viewers made the Earp connection when the film was originally released. Nevertheless, LAW AND ORDER is considered to be the first Wyatt Earp film.


THE ACTORS.

A still from Walter Huston's last film, THE FURIES (1950)

Walter Huston was born in Toronto in 1884.  A stage actor, he broke into the movies in 1929 and in his second film he hit pay dirt as the villainous Trampas in THE VIRGINIAN (Paramount, 1929), directed by Victor Fleming and starring a young Gary Cooper in the title role.

After a great start with his first two Westerns, Huston appeared in a number of other Westerns down through the years, but they turned out to be hit-and-miss propositions.

He was the best thing in that over-hyped, over-budgeted, poorly acted train wreck, THE OUTLAW (RKO, 1943).  The two young leads, Jane Russell and Jack Beutel (as Billy the Kid), were badly miscast and Thomas Mitchell, the consummate character actor, could do nothing with his poorly scripted role as a cowardly, afraid of his own shadow, Pat Garrett.  And I don't know how Doc Holliday got into the Billy/Garrett story, but there he was in the form of Walter Huston. But he couldn't save the film.

Huston also appeared in DUEL IN THE SUN(Selznick, 1946), another overblown western epic, and though it is better amd much more watchable than THE OUTLAW, it will never be counted among the great western movies.         

After being nominated for an Oscar three times (all non-westerns roles) and not winning, he finally succeeded when he was named the Best Supporting Actor for his outstanding performance in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (WB, 1948).  When discussion of this film comes up there is almost certain to be debate of whether or not it is a western.  I prefer to believe that it is and that it is a great one aided in no small part by Huston's performance.  Also contributing to the success of the film was its director, who just happened to be Huston's son, John, who won the the Oscar for Best Director for his work on the film. 

In 1950, Huston appeared in THE FURIES (WB), directed by Anthony Mann.  The film has its partisans but I don't fall into that camp.  I tend to lump it in the overdone, over blown category with THE OUTLAW and DUEL IN THE SUN. Unfortunately, it was Huston's final film.  He died shortly after its release.

A still of Harry Carey from an unknown film

Harry Carey (1878-1947) was born in New York City, but made his mark on the other coast.  A real film pioneer he began appearing in movies as early as 1909. 

He went on to become a star in silent Westerns that featured plots very much in the tradition of William S. Hart and far removed from those of Tom Mix.  A young John Ford directed several of them.

With the advent of sound, Carey became a dependable and sought after character actor, who also starred in some gritty B-Westerns that owed more to Hart than Mix.

He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (Columbia, 1939), but lost out to Thomas Mitchell's portrayal of the drunken doctor in John Ford's STAGECOACH (UA, 1939).  

One of his best, and most underrated, performances was in Howard Hawks' World War II drama, AIR FORCE (WB,1943). Despite his advanced age of sixty-five at the time, he was quite believable in his bittersweet, poignant role as the crew chief of a B-17 at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Like Huston, he was later cast in DUEL IN THE SUN and was responsible for one of that film's better performances.    

Raymond Hatton (1887-1971) began acting in films at about the same time as Carey, and though he was never a star he sure was busy.  He appeared in over a hundred silent films and then more than 200 films during the sound era.  Over half of his roles in the sound era were in westerns.  In most of those westerns, as in LAW AND ORDER, he filled the role of sidekick.  He is best known as a popular "old-timer" sidekick who provided a comic touch in three B-Western movie series, but one who was more in the tradition of Gabby Hayes rather than Smiley Burnette.  Burnette played the incompetent buffoon who was incapable of lending assistance to the hero unless it was by accident.  Gabby could be funny, but he could also be counted on when the chips were down.  

The same could be said of Hatton when he supported John Wayne and Ray Corrigan, and then Robert Livingston and Duncan Renaldo, in two of Republic's Three Mesquiteers combinations.  He filled a similar role in Monogram's Rough Riders series that teamed him with Buck Jones and Tim McCoy.  When the Rough Riders series ended as a result of Jones' tragic death in a nightclub fire, McCoy became Johnny Mack Brown's sidekick in Monogram's longest-running series.

Raymond Hatton, B-western sidekick extraordinaire

Hatton continued to act right into the '60's, but with the demise of the B-western movie series, he was seen most often on TV.   


THE DIRECTOR.    
There isn't much to be said here about the career of Edward Cahn (1899-1963). William K. Everson stated it in blunt terms when he wrote that LAW AND ORDER, only the director's second film, "was also his artistic zenith; he never again made a film that was one-tenth as good." 

But he did have a long career, but not in the western genre.  In the mid-'50's, he began to specialize in the monster/horror films for which he is most remembered.


THE WRITER.
William Riley "W.R." Burnett (1899-1982) was born in Springfield, Ohio.  He moved to Chicago when he was in his late twenties.  At the time he had already written over a hundred short stories and five novels -- all unpublished.

He took a job as a night clerk in a run-down hotel in a bad section of the city. There he became acquainted with the criminal underworld that inspired his first published novel, Little Caesar (1929), which was made into a movie two years later that gave Edward G. Robinson the role that made him a star.

W.R. Burnett

From that point on Burnett was a successful and busy novelist who also wrote and adapted stories for film.  He was best known for his crime novels. One of them, High Sierra, was turned into a popular Warner Brothers movie in 1941 that starred Humphrey Bogart and was directed by Raoul Walsh.  Eight years later, the studio re-made the film, but as a classic Western, COLORADO TERRITORY, again directed by Walsh, and starring Joel McCrea and Virginia Mayo.

He also wrote the story for another outstanding western, YELLOW SKY (Fox,1948), directed by William Wellman and starring Gregory Peck, Anne Baxter, and Richard Widmark.

Universal got good mileage out of LAW AND ORDER.  They subsequently re-made it three times: 

WILD WEST DAYS (1937): a B-western serial starring Johnny Mack Brown

LAW AND ORDER (1940): a B-western feature starring Johnny Mack Brown

LAW AND ORDER (1953): a B+-western starring Ronald Reagan and Dorothy Malone

Ronald Reagan is Frame "Saint" Johnson