DESTRY RIDES AGAIN: Blu-ray (Universal, 1939) Criterion

Ah, yes – 1939: Hollywood’s banner year. In this twelve-month period, the American film industry produced a spate of irrefutable screen classics, the quality and quantity of which it has never been able to reproduce in any other year since. Just listing a few of the highlighted goodies on tap is an awe-inspiring exercise:  adventure classics like Beau Geste and Gunga Din, superior dramas – Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, comedy gems – Ninotchka, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, The Women, actioners – Only Angels Have Wings, and, monumental westerns - Stagecoach, Dodge City, and, Jesse James. This, of course, is to say nothing of the many exemplars one could list, capped off by a certain enviable excellence for which it can justly be stated, all of the creative pistons were firing in unison: the greatest fantasy film of all time - The Wizard of Oz, one of the most sumptuous costume dramas ever produced, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, and, Selznick’s opus magnum, Gone with the Wind.  Nor would the art of make-believe ever be better than this!

Into such a rich and vibrant tapestry one cannot overlook, and certainly, should never discount director, George Marshall’s Destry Rides Again – a unusual western then, in that it starred two actors unaccustomed to appearing in the genre – as yet: the congenial every man, James Stewart, and Marlene Dietrich, whose carefully crafted persona over at Paramount, billed as an exotic bird of paradise, would have seemed an odd choice for Frenchy, the barroom hostess and harlot she plays herein. Not so, as Dietrich proved she could get deliciously low down and dirty, launching into one of the most exhilarating ‘hell hath no fury…’ brawls in movie lore. Felix Jackson, Henry Myers and Gertrude Purcell’s screenplay is loosely based on celebrated western novelist, Max Brand’s book of the same name, as well as Brand’s serialized pulp fiction, ‘Twelve Peers.’  As this was not the first attempt to bring Destry to the screen, an earlier version, starring Tom Mix, differing considerably from this reboot in 1925, the revisions skillfully made to the picture now, chiefly compliment Stewart’s slighter physical presence.

George Marshall remains an unsung director in Hollywood’s golden-era pantheon, despite being one of the industry’s most invested work horses back in the day. In reality, there was nothing about Marshall that ought to have ear-marked him for steady work in the movies, beginning with his dropping out of university to work as a part-time journalist, garage mechanic, and logger. Initially breaking into the picture biz as an extra, Marshall’s early alliances with aspiring director, Frank Lloyd, and burgeoning B-grade stars, Harry Carey and Neal Hart, paved the way for his getting noticed as the guy who could get things done – on time and under budget. One tough hombre, Marshall later served his country in WWI, but returned to making movies, steadily building an impressive roster that, while hardly classics, nevertheless made money. And Marshall showed his diversity too, effortlessly directing westerns as well as some of Laurel and Hardy’s most memorable early talkies. Accepting a long-term contract with Fox Pictures, Marshall remained at the studio after it morphed into 2oth Century-Fox. In demand, elsewhere, he was also loaned out, first to Sam Goldwyn, then Universal, where he directed W.C. Fields’ riotous, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man and Destry Rides Again in the same year.  

Destry Rides Again is, in fact, James Stewart’s first western – a genre he would not revisit until 1950’s Broken Arrow and Winchester 73.  And Stewart, still being billed at this time as the slightly gawky ‘nice guy’ to whom Hollywood’s leading ladies frequently relied upon, but only after they had been slumming with the ‘tough guys’ like Clark Gable and Gary Cooper, was not at all certain doing a western was the right decision. The screenplay’s light touch, balanced by Marshall’s even more nimble direction ensured Stewart, he would emerge, rather gallantly, as the stout-hearted romantic hero of the piece. Apart from its climactic cat-fight between Dietrich’s Frenchy and Una Merkel’s Lilly Belle Callahan – an all-out whopper to ruffle more than a few feathers inside Hollywood’s self-governing Board of Censorship, Destry Rides Again also marked something of a ‘comeback’ for Dietrich whose star had fallen considerable since her Hollywood debut, after a series of tepid programmers at Paramount aimed – but failing to maintain or even reinvent her persona as a Euro-vamp, possessing the elusive mystique, generally associated with Garbo.  In the wake of such belly-flops at the box office as The Scarlet Empress (1934), The Devil Is A Woman (1935) and Angel (1937), Dietrich – along with a healthy sampling of Hollywood’s alumni – were branded ‘box office poison’. So, a lot was riding on Destry Rides Again to shore up Dietrich’s reputation and gain new fans to bolster her future career.

So the story goes: while vacationing in Cap d'Antibes, Dietrich received an offer from producer, Joe Pasternak to ply her craft on Destry over at Universal, but for half salary - a rather low blow, as Pasternak had previously endeavored to sign Dietrich at top salary while she had still been the toast of Berlin. Having lost out to Paramount on that opportunity, Pasternak was now going to teach the glamorous Dietrich a lesson. Or was it the other way around? Uncertain of her decision, Dietrich reportedly consulted her mentor, Joseph von Sternberg, who advised, “I made you into a goddess. Now show them you have feet of clay.” Today, we tend to think of James Stewart as the ‘squeaky clean’ all-around good guy and Dietrich as the notorious man trap. But actually, according to Dietrich, Stewart aggressively pursued her until she gave in; the pair cutting their collars and cuffs on a torrid and rapturous affair throughout the shoot until Dietrich became pregnant. Ever the pragmatist, Dietrich aborted the child without confiding in Stewart the fruits of their flagrante delicto. And, in an era where such a public outcry could easily have derailed both careers, Dietrich likely made the most ‘uncomplicated’ and wisest decision to spare either of them a scandal.  

Destry Rides Again begins with our introduction to notorious saloon keeper, Kent (Brian Donlevy), who basically considers the small outpost of Bottleneck his own private thiefdom. To ensure his supremacy, Kent has the town’s sheriff, Mr. Keogh (Joe King), gunned down after Keogh makes inquiries regarding Kent’s rigged poker games. Kent and his gal/pal, Frenchy, hold dominion over the local cattle ranchers. Ken even has the mayor, Hiram J. Slade (Samuel S. Hinds) in his pocket. Requiring a dupe to fill the position of sheriff, Slade appoints the noble town drunk, Washington Dimsdale (Charles Winninger), certain, he will be manageable. Instead, Dimsdale turns around and hires noted lawman, Thomas Jefferson Destry Jr. (James Stewart), to aid in civilizing the town. Destry arrives in Bottleneck with cattleman, Jack Tyndall (Jack Carson) and his sister, Janice (Irene Hervy). But Destry’s approach to the law confounds Dimsdale. In fact, his deputy refuses to carry a gun and believes in fair and square dealings with everyone, applying logic and reason to his arguments.  Considered something of a naïve laughingstock, Destry is taunted to ‘clean up’ Bottleneck with a mop and bucket. Of course, everyone has sincerely underestimated Destry’s resolve – proven after raucous horsemen ride into town in a flashy show of gunfire, intercepted by Destry, whose expert marksmanship subdues this wild bunch and earns him the respect of Bottleneck's citizenry.

Unable to get straight answers, Destry begins to suspect the former sheriff was murdered, goading Frenchy into admitting as much. However, without a body, he has no proof to make an arrest. So, Destry lays a trap. First, he deputizes Boris Alexandrovich Callahan (Mischa Auer), a Russian immigrant Frenchy humiliated. Now, Boris implies to Kent and his motley crew he alone has discovered Keogh’s corpse ‘in remarkably good condition’ in a shallow grave just beyond the outskirts of town.  Kent pretends not to care, but later sends one of his men, Greets Stage (Carl Sepulveda) to inspect the burial site. Intercepted by Boris and Dimsdale, Greets is arrested for murder and put into jail. Fearful of their exposure in the crime, Mayor Slade appoints himself judge, guaranteeing Greets’ acquittal on all charges. Planning ahead, Destry elects to send for a more honest magistrate from the neighboring town to adjudicate the case. Unfortunately, word of his plan is leaked by Boris. Kent orders Frenchy to lure Destry to her boudoir so he and his men can make a daring prison break. They succeed at busting Greets out. Dimsdale is mortally wounded and Destry, realizing he has been played yet again for the fool, now straps on his gun belt, setting aside his previous commitment to nonviolence. The townsfolk are with him, advancing on Kent’s saloon. At Frenchy’s insistence, the townswomen advance before their menfolk, thus preventing further violence on the streets. The men storm the saloon, intercepting Kent’s men. Kent, however, has managed a narrow escape. Taking dead aim at Destry from the second floor, Frenchy throws herself in harm’s way and is killed instead. Realizing her sacrifice, Destry shoots Kent dead. Time passes. We find Destry, the sheriff of a civilized Bottleneck, telling stories to the town’s children as he prepares to marry Janice. However, the movie ends on a slightly sober note, Destry hearing one of the children singing ‘Little Joe’ - the song Frenchy was crooning when first they met, implying her memory will not likely fade from his for some time.

Destry Rides Again is a spectacular and inventive western-rom/com. It plays to type – our natural expectations for Stewart’s law-abiding man of the people who, not unlike the sheriff Gary Cooper would later play in High Noon (1952), steps outside of his comfort zone and up to the challenge, faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, yet proving an honest man can still triumph over evil. The Jackson/Purcell/Myers’ screenplay is a spellbinding merger of comedy, passion, thrills and adventure. It even gives pause for Dietrich to coo in her inimitable way, oozing subtext in 'See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have'. Peerless performances all around, deftly paced direction and palpable sparks of human desire between Dietrich and Stewart, makes for a delicious screen team – alas, never again to be reunited. And Dietrich, 38 yrs. young in 1939, absent from the screen for nearly two just prior to this movie, has come down just enough off her Euro-sophisticate’s perch to be believable as this shady lady, exuding slightly raunchy sex appeal, but with the proverbial heart of gold. Given the year’s embarrassment of riches, Destry Rides Again was one of its most commercially successful releases. A delay in the L.A. premiere made it ineligible for consideration at the 1939 Academy Awards, depriving Dietrich of what ought to have been her golden opportunity to at least be Oscar-nominated as Best Actress. The picture’s success best served James Stewart who, in 1940 made the grade, enough to appear opposite Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story – the role that won him his Best Actor statuette.

Criterion’s Blu-ray is derived from a new 4K digital restoration of an original 35-mm nitrate fine grain, undertaken by Universal with funding by The Film Foundation. The results are impressive to say the least. The image sports deep and enveloping blacks and excellent nuances in its gray scale. Curiously, there are several intermittent moments when the image freezes for a split second. And, dirty little secret #2, Destry Rides Again was previously made available in Germany in 2015 on a ‘region free’ Blu from Koch Media. This release does not contain such anomalies and, comparatively speaking, looks almost as good as the newly minted Criterion. Hal Mohr’s cinematography is gorgeous. Dietrich’s close-ups are exercises in high key-lit perfection, the soft, diffused light, planing across her sensitive visage. A light smattering of grain looks very indigenous to its source. Criterion gives us an LPCM 1.0 mono audio. Universal’s resident composer, Frank Skinner provides the score – a few cues, suspiciously similar to his contributions made on Uni’s cycle of horror classics. Once again, Criterion is a bit light on the extras. We get an interview with critic/author, Imogen Sara Smith and another with Stewart biographer, Donald Dewey. There are also audio excerpts from George Marshall’s 1973 interview for the American Film Institute, and, a Lux Radio broadcast, plus a brief booklet with an essay by Farran Smith Nehme. Usually, I do not comment on cover art, but Criterion’s here has to be among the worst I have ever seen. I mean, anyone with a rudimentary understanding of Photoshop could have run circles around this cut-n’-paste mess! Bottom line: Destry Rides Again is a hell of a good time had by all. It belongs on everyone’s top-tier of ‘must haves’ for the year. Buy today – treasure forever!

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

4

VIDEO/AUDIO

4

EXTRAS

3