Joe Dakota

JOE DAKOTA, directed by Richard Bartlett in 1957, is one of the best B Westerns I remember watching. Jock Mahoney, Charles McGraw (playing villain against type), Luana Patten, Claude Akins and Lee Van Cleef were all B picture names in 1957. Van Cleef went on to earn some considerable visibility with leading roles in Spaghetti Westerns in the late 60s.

Despite their modest status, all act rather competently in a solid and credible Western done at a point when racism was beginning to come into question in US society and the world at large. As another crit points out, it bears some similarities with the storyline of BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, done two years earlier.

In spite of some similarities, the script is very good in that it slowly draws out its real aim. Jock Mahoney does particularly well as the calm stranger with "the gall" to stand up to an entire town to try to learn about the Indian who was hanged for reportedly trying to rape a white girl.

His initial visit to the oil rig, Akins and van Cleef dropping him in the oil pool, and his bath in the town's watering hole are sequences of the highest quality, far above and beyond what one would expect from a B pic.

JOE DAKOTA keeps its slow, deliberate pace throughout, until the final showdown, but it is arresting throughout thanks to credible dialogue.

I had never heard of it, and accidentally found it on Youtube. As an avid Western watcher, I just had to watch this hitherto unknown flick, and I am glad I did.

I recommend it, too!

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!

A mysterious stranger (Mahoney) comes to town asking after the whereabouts of former resident Joe Dakota. Townsfolk are not very obliging, which seems to have something to do with a recently drilled oil well and who owns it.

The movie year 1957 was saturated with westerns. This one tries to be different, and largely succeeds. Notice that no one—not even arch-movie villains Van Cleef or Akins—sports a six- gun. And, unless I missed something, not even a single shot is fired. Add to that an oil well, of all things, plus a woebegone little prairie town that's definitely not a studio set, and you've got a different looking western.

Then too, the first part manages some pretty good low-key humor; at the same time, Mahoney gets an oil bath, courtesy the townsfolk, that leaves him looking like a human inkblot. For a western, however, there's not much action and none of the usual suspense of good-guy vs. bad-guy showdown. And truth be told, the basic plot is borrowed from 1955's mega-hit Bad Day at Black Rock. But the writers have added enough clever twists and turns to keep the viewer entertained. All in all, it's an interesting, if not very intense, little western.

(In passing—I checked to see if the oil well was an anachronism for this time period. It's not. The first well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859. Also, note that William Tallman who played the DA on the old Perry Mason series is one of the two screenwriters here.)

Shame Mahony was not a bigger star. He made most of his movies by being a uncredited stunt man which is a waste. The whistle in this is catching but could not find who the Whistler was. Enjoyable movie without a lot of violence or suspense. Turns out the whole town is keeping a secret about the location of the old Indian. Apparently one man was able to fool and fleece the others.

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.