Support Your Local Gunfighter

Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971)

Runtime: 91 minutes

Directed by: Burt Kennedy

Starring: James Garner, Suzanne Pleschette, Jack Elam, Harry Morgan, Joan Blondell

From: United Artists

Imagine Support Your Local Sheriff, except with much more yelling.

Early this year, I viewed then reviewed Sheriff, a film that was watched during my teen years in the 90’s then never again for almost 30 years. That was a fun comedic Western filled w/ many famous faces and James Garner exhibited his typical amiable charm. Two years later, some of the same cast & crew came together for this film, which shares similarities and character archetypes but is not a sequel.

This time, instead of impersonating a sheriff, Garner impersonates a legendary gunfighter in the town of Purgatory. Purgatory is a town not only filled with a pair of feuding mining camps looking for the mother lode, he meets a young lady w/ a hair-trigger temper ironically named Patience. Garner’s Latigo Smith (what a name) becomes involved-no spoilers on what you’ll be reminded of, although you could guess if you’re a genre fan.

Gunfighter is good, but not as good as Sheriff. This is due to the story, the humor, and the increase in characters yelling at each other. Personally, volume doesn’t always correlate with humor. Still, laughs were present and the cast full of famous faces was an asset: Garner, Suzanne Pleschette, Harry Morgan, Marie Windsor, Joan Blondell, Jack Elam (not so surprisingly to me, the highlight), Kathleen Freeman, Grady Sutton, and the uncredited star as the real gunfighter. This actor was well-known in the genre at the time.

The movie is still easygoing and features cartoony fates for the villains so if you like old comedy/Westerns…