LAW AND ORDER (1953)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
When I think back to Ronald Reagan, the actor, I think of "Bedtime for Bonzo" and "Knute Rockne." I tend to forget he was in some westerns and that, overall, he was quite the lawman (and an adept horse rider) in "Law and Order," a two-fisted, colorful, highly romanticized and thoroughly exciting western. It is the top-of-the-line western for those who believe that heroes were once heroes, and the villains were easy to pick out from a lineup.
This remake of a 1932 film of the same name takes the same idea of Tombstone and the Wyatt Earp legend and, basically, changes the names and settings. Frame Johnson (Ronald Reagan) is the retired marshal who wants to own a ranch and live with his dynamic girlfriend and saloon owner, Jeannie (Dorothy Malone), in a new town called Cottonwood. Of course, easier said than done when there are some old scores to settle. Mr. Johnson had been rumored to have amassed a high body count in his day, and many want to see if it is true (though he rather bring a man to justice than shoot him). Mr. Kurt Durling (Preston Foster) lost his hand in a gun battle with Frame and wants no part of this man in his town, which he practically runs. The judge wants Frame to be sheriff and Frame is quite reluctant, so Lute Johnson (Alex Nicol), Frame's brother, becomes sheriff. And all hell breaks loose in typical Technicolor western fashion, replete with exciting shoot-outs and very well-choreographed fistfights.
Reagan has a tough sincerity that is refreshing for this Wyatt Earp revision, and he has the dynamite presence of those red-blushed cheeks of Dorothy Malone to smile at often. The Durlings (including a young Dennis Weaver) are properly villainous to the nth degree, and the settings and locales are authentic. In short, "Law and Order" is not a great movie nor is it among the twenty-five best films the western genre has to offer. But as a Saturday matinee on a rainy day, it will do just fine.
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