Der Sheriff von Kansas

This is a decent and generally unremarkable western. But, because it stars Richard Dix, it comes off a bit better. While not a household name, Dix was a very fine actor--mostly because he played a great 'everyman'--a believable and rugged guy who was no pretty-boy. Solid, dependable and making the most of his material, he pretty much makes this film worth watching.

The film begins well, as it's pretty creative. Dix is a stranger in a new town and soon after arriving, there's a bank robbery. He happens to be in the right place at the time and is able to thwart the robbers. He gets them but is injured in the process. Here's the twist--when he awakens, he hears the crowd outside his window celebrating the election of a new sheriff...and that sheriff turns out to be HIM! Too good to be true? Yep. That's because a powerful rich guy has his own reasons for having the stranger become sheriff. Fortunately, Dix's character is on dummy. What's next? See this one yourself.

Overall, not a bad little film. Despite a VERY familiar plot, Dix and some decent baddies (Victor Jory and Albert Dekker) are able to elevate this one to more than just another time-passer.

Wild Pacing with a lot of Western Movie Ingredients Paraded out for WWII Movie Audiences. Explosives, Gun Battles with many Shooters On both sides, a Sprawling Saloon Brawl that is a Stuntman's Showcase, Cattle Stampede, and more Outlandish Outdoor Shenanigans.

The Wartime Audiences sure got Their Money's Worth with this one. An Aging Richard Dix Shows Heroics, Honor, and Precise Marksmanship, although He is Nicked by incoming Bullets at least Five Times. Albert Dekker is a Dandy Villain and Victor Jory is on hand as an Ambiguous Mysterious Player in all the doings. It's Never Certain where He Stands and that Adds a bit of Intrigue.

Jane Wyatt just Sparkles on screen and is Cute. Overall, a Rousing, Never Boring, Wide Open Western that is Entertaining. Willie Best will Certainly get Noticed as a Racial Stereotype and Comedy Relief, but is shown Respect by the "Good Guys".

Note...There is a Propaganda insertion ("When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again") as WWII was raging on, to boost morale. A musical number that was popular during the Civil War it is here delivered by leggy George Cohan types.

Note 2…The Print shown on TCM in 2015 was washed out and pretty shoddy. One assumes it is the best available. There is no contrast and it has a white-washed look. If it is the best out there, Film-Restorists-Archivists should be on the look out for better source material.

Richard Dix finds himself elected sheriff of a small town run by land baron Albert Dekker after helping foil a robbery in this B-Western from the '40s. Dekker's the one who had him elected in the expectation that he would become just another of his puppets - but this is Dickie Dix we're talking about, and he's not about to be any man's doormat, even if he does look a little careworn at this stage of his career (death from heart attack was only 6 years away). The widely under-praised Victor Jory plays Dekker's brother, a gambler whose uncertain allegiance to either side makes him by far the film's most interesting character.

No need to recap the plot. Though conventional in most respects, this western does have some imaginative wrinkles. The Victor Jory character (Jeff) is a real novelty for the western format. Unlike most oaters, we can't tell where his loyalties lie. His intentions remain something of an enigma, which adds greatly to the plot since we can't be sure what he'll do next. With his unusual looks, Jory is perfectly cast. Then there's the super slick Albert Dekker who uses his extraordinary business guile instead of a six-gun to take over the town. All in all, it's a fine cast of colorful movie veterans, especially the froggish Eugene Palette.

I get the feeling someone in production was aiming for an epic scale western. Consider features like the host of extras, the big shootouts, the massive barroom free-for-all, the cattle stampede that's not all stock shots, along with the well-mounted musical numbers. The trouble is they spent all their money on big events but filmed in the very un-epic LA area scrublands, which gives the visuals a flat, pedestrian appearance. The story may be grandly conceived but the canvas is ordinary, at best. All in all, it's an interesting, slightly offbeat western.

In Broken Lance, Kansas, John Bonniwell averts the Jesse James gang from holding up the town bank, but is severely wounded in the process. When he awakes in the hospital, he finds that he has been elected town marshall, with high recommendations from the bank owner and leading citizen, Steve Barat. Bonniwell accepts the job (especially after getting an eyeful of the hotel owner Eleanor Sager) even though he knows that he was only appointed to become a pawn in Barat's scheme to bleed Broken Lance, and the Kansas, dry. Bonniwell's position is put to the test when Barat sues Bonniwell's friend Waggoner for running his cattle without paying the $1 a head toll enforced by Barat. When he sees that Bonniwell isn't going to be controlled so easily, Barat has Bonniwell's enemies go after him followed by an attempt by Barat's gambling brother, Jeff (who seems to be playing both sides of the standoff, while in love with Eleanor). Bonniwell then starts to rid Broken Lance of Barat's influence without losing his life, or anyone else's, in the process. Very good western with an excellent script, direction, characterization, and performances by everyone. Dix is right at home as Bonniwell, even though he seems awkward at times. Jory gives one of his best performances as Jeff, and his characterization is very surprising and different from others in the genre. The movie also contains one of the biggest barroom free for alls in any western, with everyone getting into the fracas. Only flaw was the climax was not as action packed as other sequences in the movie, but still a winner all the way. Rating, based on B westerns (this may count as a B+ however), 9.