Customer Reviews

Dodge City [VHS]

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dodge City is one of the Westerns that set the standard for the thousands that would come after it. Fun,funny, even playful, with a stalwart hero (Flynn, dastardly villains (Bruce Cabot and Victor Jory), noble and comical sidekicks (Alan Hale and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams), and a woman worth fighting and dying for (Olivia de Havilland).
Flynn didn't consider himself a good Western hero, but he was perfect, and Dodge City, for the time it was made, and even in today's harsh light, is near perfect. Another one of the many great films made in 1939.

The first time I saw Dodge City, it didn't make that great of an impression on me. The whole movie seemed to be full of clichés. But having seen it several times now, I've come to appreciate that this was probably the movie where most of the clichés were started. Errol Flynn stars as Wade Hatton, a trail boss, who moves into Dodge City and takes the job of sheriff. It's a tough place to be sheriff, because lawlessness is the way of life, and Bruce Cabot(the movie's villain) is calling the shots. Flynn's frequent leading lady, Olivia deHavilland, stars at the outspoken newspaperwoman that he falls in love with. Alan Hale, who provides most of the movie's laughs, is along for the ride as Flynn's sidekick. The movie has a lot going for it. I've always thought that westerns worked better in colour, and this movie is filmed in beautiful Technicolor. The movie also features the best bar-room brawl I've ever seen, and there is a lot of humour thrown in amidst the action. The performers are all good, although Ann Sheridan is given little screen time, despite her high billing as Cabot's girlfriend. With all the action, humour, and Technicolor beauty, Dodge City is a western well worth viewing.

In 1872, cattleman Wade Hatton (Flynn) leads a wagon train in Dodge City, Kansas a lawless mecca of gambling, liquor and murder. During the trek, he becomes infatuated with Abbie Irving (De Havilland), but she wrongly blames him for the death of her careless kid brother......DODGE CITY is a colourful and action-packed Western that put much of the Warners stock company to good use and contains the definitive barroom brawl scene. Flynn felt somewhat miscast in Westerns (and perhaps rightfully so), but this was one of the best. What the film lacks in story, it more than made up for with beautiful Technicolor, a memorable score by Max Steiner and the ultimate barroom brawl scene - plus Alan Hale and Ann Sheridan in support. Flynn and the notoriously tyrannical Hungarian director Michael Curtiz made 10 movies together; but Flynn felt that Curtiz demanded much too much of him (he also blamed him for the death of a close friend during the shooting of THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE in 1936). Flynn was in love with the lady-like DeHavilland but he was married at the time and was unwilling to court her in anything vaguely resembling a traditional manner - which made any conceivable consummation between the two a frustrating matter!

After Robin Hood and the Charge of the Light Brigade we have Errol Flynn as a western town-tamer. Don't try to understand it; just go with it. This classic western film has everything: action, romance, humor, and great color photography. Flynn and his friends drive cattle to the rail-head in Dodge City, a town that needs taming in the worst way. They run into an old enemy who controls the town. There are gunfights a'plenty, a cattle stampede, and a classic saloon-room brawl. In the middle of all this mayhem, don't miss Alan Hale's hilarious encounter with the temperance ladies of "The Pure Prairie League." Errol's best leading lady, Olivia De Havilland, adds style. This film has little of the artistic quality of John Ford westerns, but it's a lively and entertaining movie. The good guys vs. the bad guys. Kick back and enjoy it.

The brilliant-looking transfer on DVD helps make this one of the better old-time westerns (which was still good even before this disc came out. Her's five reasons to consider getting this:

1 - It is a very fast-moving story. No lulls here. 2 - The hero of the story (Errol Flynn) is a very likable guy. 3 - The gorgeous Technicolor (not many color films made around this time) which looks even bolder and brighter on the DVD. 4 - The story sports a good combination of action, drama, romance and comedy. 5 - A very young Olivia de Havilland at her prettiest

This was one of the first westerns to feature a well-known actor, helping to give the genre a boost in reputation. Bruce Cabot andVictory Jory are credible as villains. Alan Hale is tolerable in his normal role as the buffoon. The only disappointment was Ann Sheridan, a beautiful woman who did not look as attractive in this film and had a role much smaller than one would believe from the billing she gets on the DVD back cover.

At the time, no one thought that Errol Flynn could pull off a western character, but he brings law and order to Dodge City!

Alan Hale, Sr. (the father of the Skipper on "Gilligan's Island"), is again teamed with Flynn as a faithful friend in this tale of frontier justice.

Flynn portrays a wagon train scout and railroad troubleshooter who ends up sheriff of Dodge City when faced with the brutality and lawlessness of the town.

You won't regret seeing this classic!

"That's one fight you Yanks didn't win. But take it easy. We'll send the vet right over!" -- Tex


Errol Flynn cut a dashing trail through the American West for the first time in Dodge City. Flynn, an Australian, always worried he would not be accepted as a western hero. But rather than mold him to a type, Flynn's charisma and charm helped put his own stamp on the genre, making for a delightful if bit different entry of wagon trains and wild towns. Everything about this western is slightly different, from Flynn's wide brimmed hat, to its deceptively easygoing manner, camouflaging the lighting pace of director Michael Curtiz. The original screenplay by Robert Buckner is an enjoyable piece of entertainment. You know you're watching a western, but it doesn't feel like you are, at least in any traditional sense. It was simply Flynn and the WB stock company saddling up, and the results are fabulous.

Th film opens in Kansas after the Civil War, Wade Hatton (Flynn) and his trail pals helping Colonel Dodge (Henry O'Neil) bring the railroad and the civilization that would follow along with it. It is here that the bitter conflict with Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot) and his henchman Yancy (Victor Jory) emerges for the first time. Six years later, Wade and his pals, Rusty (Alan Hale) and Tex (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams), are taking their herd to Dodge. They've offered protection to a wagon train with a young and lovely Abbie Irving (Olivia de Havilland) along. Her young and rambunctious brother will force a tragedy upon the trail for which she blames Wade. Orphaned and traveling west, he'll deliver her to her aunt and uncle in Dodge, a wild and lawless town rife with fun and danger.

Alan Hale has some fun moments trying to reform while Guinn Williams does the opposite, resulting in perhaps the greatest saloon brawl ever filmed. It is fun to watch, as is everything in this film; especially Flynn, who somehow managed to seem more Aussie here, yet made his own niche in the western. The cheating and killing by Surrett and his man Yancey will finally go too far, however, when a young boy Wade was fond of loses his life during a disturbance, and he finally accepts the offer as Sheriff of Dodge City. He cleans up the town with Rusty and Tex, as families begin to return, while the paper Abbie now works for begins exposing Surrett and his hold on the town, leading to an exciting technicolor showdown.

There is a wonderful ending for fans of Flynn and de Havilland, and silent film fans will be glad to catch a glimpse of star Monte Blue as Barlow, still kicking around in films in 1939. This one is simply fun, and the perfect film for a Saturday morning when you want to kick back.

Dodge City doesn't hold up as well as other Errol Flynn classics, partially because the film seems to be trying a little too hard to throw everything into the mix, with the through line of the story suffering as a consequence. In many ways it's really just a B-movie with A-movie production values, glorious Technicolor (albeit somewhat inconsistent in the new DVD due to the mastering problems with the old three-strip system elements) and a great supporting cast, and never quite catches fire the way it should despite being more than entertaining enough.

Still, the DVD does include among its plentiful extras the superb Tex Avery cartoon The Shooting of Dan McFoo, so I didn't feel shortchanged. Also included is the original trailer built around colour footage of the film's Dodge City premiere, a retrospective featurette 'Go West, Errol Flynn,' short historical drama 'Sons of Liberty,' brief newsreel extract and a trailer for Jimmy Cagney Western The Oklahoma Kid.

Hugely Enjoyable ! . Where Cattle drivers end , trouble begins . Thirsty trigger-happy cowmen pour into DODGE CITY , where might too often makes right . There ought to be a law in this corrupt , bullet-riddled town . Once trail boss Wade Hatton (Errol Flynn 1909-1959) pins on a babge , there is . In his first of Eight Westerns . Flynn is as able with a six-shooter as he was with a Swashbucklers Sword . He Contronts lynch mobs , slam outlaws into jail and escapes along with co-star Olivia de Havilland (1916- ) a fiery locked railroad car . Cheered for Flynns sagebrush debut , its vivid Technicolor look and spectacular saloon brawl that may have employed every available stuntsperson in Hollywood , DODGE CITY later gained another distinction when it inspired Mel Brooks (1926- ) cowboy parody (Blazing Saddles 1974) . Double feature , anyone ! . Same crew how restore and remastred "The adventures of Robin Hood 1939" done this wonderful , Ultra-Resolution transfer in High Quality pictures . This is a classic Wester , Higly Recommended

I like the review by Tom Milne of Time Out Film Guide on the back cover of the DVD:
"Hugely enjoyable. Put together with great freshness and skill." That's exactly how I feel about this movie. There is a freshness and energy in Michael Curtiz' direction on this, made when John Ford was just getting started establishing himself as a director of westerns. Warner Brothers movies of the late 30s and early 40s, like the Errol Flynn ones and Sergeant York, were outstanding for their dynamism. This particular one has probably the most enormous barroom brawl ever filmed, certainly the biggest I've ever seen. The story is typical of a western, involving the oft-used subjects of ladies in distress, terrorist monopolies, and courageous newspaper businesses facing threats. I think it's played out in a different way from most, though, because of Errol Flynn's unique combination of calmness and disdain toward wrongdoers. He is the cast member who makes this most unique, I think. I was delighted that Clarence the Angel from It's a Wonderful Life is the doctor on this, played by Henry Travers.