What was it about 1939? "Dark Victory", "Gone with the Wind", "Goodbye, Mr. Chips", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "Stagecoach", "The Wizard of Oz", and many more great films all from one magical year. And "Dodge City" was another winner.
Make no mistake...this film belongs almost solely to Errol Flynn. It was his first Western, and he is simply great in it. But the rest of the cast is golden, as well. Olivia de Havilland as the love interest (again), Ann Sheridan as a saloon girl in what might be considered here first big role (small though it was), Bruce Cabot as the smiling villain. Alan Hale as Flynn's sidekick (again), Henry Travers as the doctor and uncle of De Havilland's character), Henry O'Neill as Colonel Grenville Dodge, and Victor Jory as the even worse bad guy. Special mention should be made of Frank McHugh, in an odd role for him...no comedy...straight drama...and I enjoyed him this way, while I often tired of his silly roles in most other films.
In terms of the plot, one of our reviewers said the film was "entirely conventional". Well, I think this film was what made some of those plot devices "conventional" -- a stampede, a runaway railway chase, a cliff hanger shoot out, and more. Virtually every Western listed as "one of the greatest" came after 1939 and this film and "Stagecoach".
And, particularly with Blue-Ray, this film -- in Technicolor -- has been restored to its colorful glory.
If you like Westerns at least a little bit, this is one to watch.
3 out of 3 found this helpful