Destry Rides Again

More entertaining and interesting in theory than in practice, Destry Rides Again is one of those canonized classics that I possibly just don’t get. Perhaps I was expecting too much walking into this film, but I found its combination of western and comedy too broad. As a straight-up western, it’s fun and enjoyable with elements of comedy and farce spliced in at around. But it’s not the out-and-out classic that it’s been heralded as.

The story is pure cowboy as it concerns a corrupt little town called Bottleneck losing it’s mayor to machinations of the evil gangster whose truly in charge, hiring up the town drunk (who ends up taking the position seriously) and the new mayor’s quest to bring back Destry, his former partner. The comedy comes in two forms: James Stewart as Destry, but he’s not the drunken mayor’s old buddy, he’s the pacifist son. And, of course, in Marlene Dietrich who is seen here sending up not just any image of herself, but the enduring, classic and iconic image that had been meticulously sculpted and cultivated through seven films with Josef von Sternberg.

When Stewart and Dietrich are left to radiate their own particular brands of movie star magic, they’re immensely electrifying and watchable. It’s the uneven writing that really sinks the whole affair. Stewart’s Destry is a pacifist until the final act requires him to weapon up and charge into battle. Despite spending 75% of the movie preaching on and on about nonviolence and cleverly settling disagreements using wit and charm, this sudden change is never smoothed over nor given any dramatic heft. I’d think that a man like Destry would feel burdened by the fact that he’s now got to go into battle and kill his enemies.

But this is really Dietrich’s show, and her joy in the role is positively palpable. She’s clearly having fun turning her exotic “Other” persona on its ear and revealing herself to be a major player in the town’s political structure. Her transformation from dangerous femme fatale sexpot to heroic saloon girl is more smoothly transitioned, only really troublesome in the fact that the director decided to play the female uprising and exhibitions of competence for laughs. While it may not be the classic that the hype has made it out to be, it’s still a very enjoyable, well-made and fun movie.