Destry (1954)

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

Max Brand (suggested by novel "Destry Rides Again")
Felix Jackson (story)
(more)

Release Date:

1 December 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

From the roaring , raucous, rowdy pages of the best-loved legend of the West!

Plot:

In the old West, a small frontier town is being controlled by ruthless mob boss Decker and his cronies...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Deputy | Frontier Town | Lawman | Justice

Cast

Audie Murphy	...	Tom Destry
Mari Blanchard	...	Brandy
Lyle Bettger	...	Phil Decker
Thomas Mitchell	...	Reginald T. 'Rags' Barnaby
Edgar Buchanan	...	The Honorable Hiram J. Sellers, Mayor
Lori Nelson	...	Martha Phillips
Wallace Ford	...	Doc Curtis
Mary Wickes	...	Bessie Mae Curtis
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Jack Larson
George Wallace	...	Curly Adams
Richard Reeves	...	Mac
Walter Baldwin	...	Henry Skinner
Lee Aaker	...	Eli Skinner
Anthony Lawrence	...	The Professor (as Mitchell Lawrence)
Frank Richards	...	Dummy
Trevor Bardette	...	Sheriff Joe Bailey
Ralph Peters	...	Bartender
John Doucette	...	Cowhand
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emile Avery	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Billy Bletcher	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Wayne Burson	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Frank Cordell	...	Stagecoach Driver (uncredited)
Anne Cornwall	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Townsman / Barfly (uncredited)
Mabel Forrest	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Herb Golden	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Kit Guard	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Harry Harris	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Jimmy Hawkins	...	Boy (uncredited)
Marcoreta Hellman	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Harry Hines	...	Miner (uncredited)
Jack Kenny	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Donald Kerr	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Ethan Laidlaw	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Rex Lease	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Philo McCullough	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Barfly (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Frances Osborne	...	Miss Sweetland (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Jack Tornek	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Henry Wills	...	Shotgun Rider (uncredited)

Directed by
George Marshall

Writing credits
Max Brand		(suggested by novel "Destry Rides Again")
Felix Jackson		(story)
Edmund H. North		(screenplay) and
D.D. Beauchamp		(screenplay)

Produced by
Stanley Rubin	....	producer

Original Music by
Henry Mancini		(uncredited)
Frank Skinner		(uncredited)
Herman Stein		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
George Robinson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ted J. Kent

Art Direction by
Alexander Golitzen
Alfred Sweeney

Set Decoration by
John P. Austin
Russell A. Gausman

Costume Design by
Rosemary Odell

Makeup Department
Joan St. Oegger	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Shaw	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Glenn E. Anderson	....	sound
Leslie I. Carey	....	sound

Stunts
Emile Avery	....	stunts (uncredited)
Polly Burson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Wayne Burson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Carson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ken Cooper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Charles Horvath	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lucille House	....	stunts (uncredited)
Robert F. Hoy	....	stunt double: Audie Murphy (uncredited)
Frank Mills	....	stunts (uncredited)
Regis Parton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent	....	stunts (uncredited)
Henry Wills	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Joseph Gershenson	....	music supervisor

Other crew
William Fritzsche	....	technicolor color consultant
Kenny Williams	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Universal International Pictures (UI)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Films (1955) (France) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1955) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Universal Films Española (1955) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Comet Video (????) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Norway:12 (1955) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17121, General Audience) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Audie Murphy acted with Alan Hale Jr. in this film. Hale would go on to be Skipper in "Gilligan's Island" (1964). Murphy made Ride Clear of Diablo (1954) with Russell Johnson, who played "The Professor" on "Gilligan's Island".

Quotes:

The Honorable Hiram J. Sellers, Mayor:Deliver the prisoner at ten o'clock - Decker's Saloon. It's the only place in town big enough to hold a trial.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Destry" (1964)

Soundtrack:

If You Can Can-Can

diminutive cowboy (audie murphy) cleans up a rough town

fNo sooner had the big budget To Hell and Back been released than everyone began to wonder if Audie Murphy, who played himself in that autobiographical flick about his WWII experiences, might be on the way out of B westerns and into major movies. It was, after all, one of the most successful films in Universal Studios history to that point in time. No such thing, though - later that same year, Murphy was back in a better-than-average remake of the classic Destry Rides Again - this time, with the title shortened to the character's name, doubtless because that was in vogue at the time: Shane (Alan Ladd), Hondo (John Wayne), Jubal (Glenn Ford), etc. While this film may never come close to the heights of the earlier A movie starring James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich, it sure rates far and above the average oater of that time. Murphy is actually far more close to the descriptions of Tom Destry in the original novel than was Stewart, and while Mari Blanchard isn't Marlene Dietrich (who was?), she is pretty terrific as the exotic saloon girl whose cynical attitude melts whenever she's around the likable young marshal. Murphy's self-effacing style may not have been acting precisely, but when one critic dubbed him a half-pint Gary Cooper, he got it right in everything except the intended insult. Murphy was, and still remains on celluloid, one of the greatest of all B movie cowboy heroes. The little boy who idolizes him is played by Lee Aaker, who that same year became "Corporal Rusty" on Rin Tin Tin. Lori Nelson, a gorgeous blonde then under contract at Universal, is the 'nice' girl. Uninspired but solid, this is as fine a representation of the era's B westerns as you could ask for - and the perfect film for anyone out there who hasn't seen one of them and is looking for a good place to start. Nice color photography, too!