Destry (film)

1954 film by George Marshall

Destry

Theatrical release poster by Reynold Brown

Directed by| George Marshall
Screenplay by| Edmund H. North
D.D. Beauchamp
Story by| Felix Jackson
Based on| Destry Rides Again by Max Brand
Produced by| Stanley Rubin
Starring| Audie Murphy
Mari Blanchard
Lyle Bettger
Lori Nelson
Thomas Mitchell
Edgar Buchanan
Wallace Ford
Mary Wickes
Alan Hale Jr.
Cinematography| George Robinson
Edited by| Ted J. Kent
Music by| Henry Mancini
Frank Skinner
Herman Stein
Color process| Technicolor

Production
company

Universal Pictures

Distributed by| Universal Pictures

Release dates

* December 1, 1954 (1954-12-01) (United States)
* January 19, 1955 (1955-01-19) (Los Angeles)

Running time

| 95 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $1.5 million (US)[1]

Destry is a 1954 American western film directed by George Marshall and starring Audie Murphy, Mari Blanchard, Lyle Bettger and Thomas Mitchell.

This, the third film to utilize the title character of Max Brand's novel Destry Rides Again, is a color remake of the black-&-white 1939 Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart film version. Indeed, Halliwell's Film Guide calls it an "almost scene-for-scene remake."[2] Both films were directed by George Marshall and have a plot bearing no resemblance to Brand's novel or the original 1932 film adaptation.

## Plot

[edit]

The sheriff (Trevor Bardette) of a small western town dies of a 'heart attack' and the crooked mayor, The Honorable Hiram J. Sellers (Edgar Buchanan), and leading crook Phil Decker (Lyle Bettger) appoint the town drunk, Reginald T. "Rags" Barnaby (Thomas Mitchell), as the new sheriff, believing that he will be easily controlled by them. Rags, however, immediately announces he is giving up drinking and refuses to accept Decker as his new deputy, telling them that he has someone else in mind: Tom Destry, the son of a famed two-fisted lawman.

Destry (Audie Murphy) arrives on the stagecoach with great fanfare, but Rags is disappointed to find out that unlike his father the son is a young man who refuses to carry a gun. Destry prefers friendly persuasion and use of the law over violence. Destry finds out that the previous sheriff may not have died of a heart attack as had been claimed; he suspects that the sheriff was murdered while trying to resolve a land dispute, and he sets about finding out how the sheriff actually died. After Decker orchestrates a public display of humiliation, with the help of his girlfriend Brandy (Mari Blanchard), against the new deputy, Destry tricks them into unloading their weapons and then surprises them all: while he prefers non-violence, he is expertly proficient with a gun, turning the tables on the perceived sentiment against him with an impressive sharp-shooting display. All the while his public bravado was merely a cover to collect evidence for analysis.

Eventually it becomes clear that Decker shot & killed the sheriff in order to further his plans to obtain all the land necessary to control and exploit the transit of cattle over those properties. With the help of gunfighter Jack Larson (Alan Hale Jr.), who had earlier come to blows with Destry but ultimately comes to a respectful accord with the new deputy, arrests from Decker's gang are made and it seems evident that Decker will be arrested for the murder. However a jailbreak is committed, on Decker's orders, and Barnaby is killed in the jail. Destry finally abandons his resolve to seek orderly resolution and heads to the saloon with gun in hand. A shootout follows, in which Decker, his gang, the mayor and even Brandy (who sacrifices herself to save Destry) are killed. With law and order restored, Destry is appointed the new sheriff.

## Cast

[edit]

* Audie Murphy as Tom Destry
* Mari Blanchard as Brandy
* Lyle Bettger as Decker
* Thomas Mitchell as Rags Barnaby
* Edgar Buchanan as Mayor Sellers
* Lori Nelson as Martha Phillips
* Wallace Ford as Doc Curtis
* Mary Wickes as Bessie Mae Curtis
* Alan Hale Jr. as Jack Larson
* George Wallace as Curly
* Richard Reeves as Mac
* Walter Baldwin as Henry Skinner
* Lee Aaker as Eil Skinner
* Anthony Lawrence as Professor (as Mitchell Lawrence)
* Frank Richards as Dummy
* Trevor Bardette as Sheriff Bailey
* Ralph Peters as Bartender
* John Doucette as Coward

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956
2. ^ John Walker, ed. (1994). Halliwells Film Guide 10th edition. Harper Collins. p. 288\. ISBN 0-00-638389-0.

## External links

[edit]

* Destry at IMDb
* Destry at the TCM Movie Database
* Destry at Audie Murphy Memorial Site
* Review of film at Variety

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Films directed by George Marshall

* The Committee on Credentials (1916)
* Love's Lariat (1916)
* A Woman's Eyes (1916)
* The Devil's Own (1916)
* The Man from Montana (1917)
* The Midnight Flyer (1918)
* The Adventures of Ruth (1919)
* Ruth of the Rockies (1920)
* Prairie Trails (1920)
* After Your Own Heart (1921)
* The Jolt (1921)
* The Lady from Longacre (1921)
* Hands Off! (1921)
* A Ridin' Romeo (1921)
* Why Trust Your Husband? (1921)
* Smiles Are Trumps (1922)
* Don Quickshot of the Rio Grande (1923)
* Where is This West? (1923)
* Men in the Raw (1923)
* The Back Trail (1924)
* Pack Up Your Troubles (1932)
* Their First Mistake (1932)
* Towed in a Hole (1932)
* Ever Since Eve (1934)
* Wild Gold (1934)
* She Learned About Sailors (1934)
* 365 Nights in Hollywood (1934)
* Life Begins at 40 (1935)
* $10 Raise (1935)
* Music Is Magic (1935)
* In Old Kentucky (1935)
* Show Them No Mercy! (1935)
* Can This Be Dixie? (1936)
* A Message to Garcia (1936)
* The Crime of Dr. Forbes (1936)
* Nancy Steele Is Missing! (1937)
* Love Under Fire (1937)
* The Goldwyn Follies (1938)
* Battle of Broadway (1938)
* You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939)
* Destry Rides Again (1939)
* The Ghost Breakers (1940)
* When the Daltons Rode (1940)
* Pot o' Gold (1941)
* Texas (1941)
* Valley of the Sun (1942)
* The Forest Rangers (1942)
* Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
* Riding High (1943)
* True to Life (1943)
* And the Angels Sing (1944)
* Murder, He Says (1945)
* Incendiary Blonde (1945)
* Hold That Blonde! (1945)
* The Blue Dahlia (1946)
* Monsieur Beaucaire (1946)
* The Perils of Pauline (1947)
* Variety Girl (1947)
* Hazard (1948)
* Tap Roots (1948)
* My Friend Irma (1949)
* Fancy Pants (1950)
* Never a Dull Moment (1950)
* A Millionaire for Christy (1951)
* The Savage (1952)
* Off Limits (1953)
* Scared Stiff (1953)
* Houdini (1953)
* Money from Home (1953)
* Red Garters (1954)
* Duel in the Jungle (1954)
* Destry (1954)
* The Second Greatest Sex (1955)
* Pillars of the Sky (1956)
* Beyond Mombasa (1956)
* The Guns of Fort Petticoat (1957)
* The Sad Sack (1957)
* The Sheepman (1958)
* Imitation General (1958)
* The Mating Game (1959)
* It Started with a Kiss (1959)
* The Gazebo (1959)
* Cry for Happy (1961)
* The Happy Thieves (1961)
* How the West Was Won (1962)
* Papa's Delicate Condition (1963)
* Dark Purpose (1964)
* Advance to the Rear (1964)
* Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966)
* Eight on the Lam (1967)
* The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968)
* Hook, Line & Sinker (1969)

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