#1024: MARSHALL, George: Destry Rides Again (1939)

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MARSHALL, George (United States)
Destry Rides Again [1939]
Spine #1024
Blu-ray


Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart ride high in this superb comedic western, both a boisterous spoof and a shining example of its genre. As the brawling, rough-and-tumble saloon singer French, Dietrich shed her exotic love-goddess image and launched a triumphant career comeback, while Stewart cemented his amiable everyman persona, in his first of many westerns, with a charming turn as a gun-abhorring deputy sheriff who uses his wits to bring law and order to the frontier town of Bottleneck. A sparkling script, a supporting cast of virtuoso character actors, and rollicking musical numbers — delivered with unmatched bravado by the magnetic Dietrich — come together to create an irresistible, oft-imitated marvel of studio-era craftsmanship.

94 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
1:35:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2020
Director/Writers


Suggested by Max Brand’s novel Destry Rides Again. 
Original story by Felix Jackson.
Screenplay by Jackson, Gertrude Purcell, and Henry Myers.
George Marshall was 48 when he directed Destry Rides Again. 

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

 The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme.

Commentary

None.

Interview 1

With critic Imogen Sara Smith.

Interview 2

With Donald Dewey, author of James Stewart: A Biography.

Illustrated audio excerpts

From a 1973 oral-history interview with director Marshall conducted by the American Film Institute.

Lux Radio Theatre

Adaptation of the film from 1945, featuring actors Stewart and Joan Blondell.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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