Six-Shootin' Sheriff (1938)

I spent an hour last night watching this, with a bowl of popcorn and a copy of the original mimeographed Colony shooting script in hand. Not a great film, but an educational experience. This copy of the script is signed by Don Miller - one of Ed Woods pseudonyms - and while it might not have been his, it could have served as a model for his later work.

Six Shootin Sheriff is not Shakespeare or Citizen Kane, and the cast treats the material accordingly. The film follows the script for continuity, but very few of the lines are delivered word for word. Marjorie Reynolds (better known as "that Linda Mason" in Holiday Inn) tries a little harder than the cowpokes, but no one puts forth much dramatic effort. The action sequences are better.

The budget for this film was minimal and it shows. Sets vary from 1880's mining town to 1930's living room (the chintz print sofa and cocktail dresses are nice touches). Music wraps about a minute into both ends of the film, with only dialogue and sound effects in the middle. The script has a lot of "night" scenes, which look like day scenes with a filter. My overall impression is that Grand National wasted very little money in re-shooting or cutting on this film.

Not a bad way to spend an hour, though. The action is good, and the story is interesting enough that I only slept through a couple of pages of the script.