Joe Dakota

I saw this Western movie on afternoon TV when I was a child. I remember it as suspenseful, yet sweet and touching. There's the mystery: who is this Stranger who rides into town, what does he want, and what has happened to the old Indian scout named "Joe Dakota"? What are the townspeople hiding? The sweet and touching ending: the Stranger exposes the injustice that has been done, which leads the townspeople into repentance.

TV's Range Rider tried his hand at big screen westerns and this one, Joe Dakota is one of them. Sad to say though that Jock Mahoney came along a bit too late to be a big screen cowboy hero. And the film while good is not anything you wouldn't see as a Gunsmoke episode.

The plot is considerably borrowed from MGM's Bad Day At Black Rock, but its hero is a soft spoken Tom Destry like character. Jock Mahoney is in the title role and he comes to town looking for someone the locals only knew as 'The Old Indian'. He's disappeared now and a bunch of the locals under the supervision of town tough Charles McGraw are drilling an oil well on the Old Indian's land.

Only it's not his land, it's Mahoney's land which 'the old Indian' was squatting on for Mahoney. Mahoney starts investigating, start asking questions and pretty soon the town is riled. Something McGraw hopes to use when the time comes.

Mahoney does make a good cowboy hero, born a little too late to have made a career on the big screen. I remember him well as the Range Rider during my childhood years. As for 'the Old Indian' and McGraw if you've seen Bad Day At Black Rock you know how this one comes out.

Such fine folks as Luana Patten, Barbara Lawrence, Paul Birch, Claude Akins and Lee Van Cleef fill out the cast. Sad Jock Mahoney came along too late to be a big screen cowboy hero.

I saw this movie when I was younger and never forgot the story, but I couldn't recall the title. I'm so glad to find it after a long search. A man called Joe Dakota arrives in a small western town in California looking for his friend, an old Native American who owns a farm nearby. Why is there such secrecy around the old man's disappearance? Nobody in town wants to talk about it. The mystery slowly unfolds as Joe Dakota launches an investigation. One scene that was unforgettable to me was the bathing scene with the sound of meadowlark birds singing in the background. Great story!

I stumbled upon this movie one day on Encore Westerns, our favorite channel and it is very well done! Joe Dakota was well written and played out very nicely. It was sweet and charming along with great character development and extremely witty. Unlike some other classic westerns that are "to cute" and wrap up quickly to a very predictable end, this movie was fluid and swept you right along a smooth ride! A must see for any true classic western lover! Jock Mahoney was great! I will truly look out for more of his work in the future! His role was thought out and kept you thinking and wondering up until that "uh huh!" moment. I can only say I'm disappointed it took me this long to see it!

This is a pretty nice little western though inspired - it is so obvious - by John Sturge's BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. Yes, it is well done, full of charm and charisma, helped by a Jock Mahoney as convincing as ever. There is nothing spectacular, as in any Richard Bartlett's movie, nearly an oater, so for once I advise you to forget cavalry, Indians on warpath, outlaws, and focus on this cute story of a man in search of his pal. It is not a harsh drama, on the contrary, light hearted movie, perfect for sunday matinees at home or in your favourite theater. Of course, Sturges' film was far far better in terms of directing and overall making matters, and the actors different too: Spence Tracy, Bob Ryan, Ernest Borgnine.... But is was not a grade B picture either.