Dodge City

Plot synopsis:
The action of the film starts with Colonel Dodge (Henry O'Neill) arriving on the first train and subsequently opening the new railroad line that links Dodge City with the rest of the world. A few years later, Dodge City has turned into the "longhorn cattle center of the world and wide-open Babylon of the American frontier, packed with settlers, thieves and gunmen—the town that knew no ethics but cash and killing". In particular, it is Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot) and his gang who kill, steal, cheat and, generally, control life in Dodge City without ever being brought to justice. Any new sheriff, sworn into office in Dodge, is quickly driven out of town by Surrett and his cronies.
Colonel Dodge's friend Wade Hatton (Errol Flynn), a lone Irish cowboy who was instrumental in bringing the railroad to Dodge City, is now on his way to the town leading a trek of settlers from the East coast. At Hatton's side are his old companions Rusty (Alan Hale) and Tex (Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams), who are prepared to stay with him through thick and thin. Among the settlers are beautiful Abbie Irving (Olivia de Havilland) and her irresponsible brother Lee (William Lundigan), who, drunk, causes a stampede (which eventually kills him) and is shot by Hatton in self-defense. When the group arrive in Dodge City, Hatton is confronted with the full extent of the anarchy which is dictating everyday life there. Asked by anxious citizens—Abbie's uncle, Dr. Irving (Henry Travers) among them—to be the new sheriff, Hatton politely declines, saying he is not cut out for this kind of job.
Hatton changes his mind when, during a school outing, a young boy, Harry Cole is inadvertently killed by Surrett and his men. The new sheriff and his deputies—Rusty and Tex among them of course—have a hard time not just fighting the criminals but also convincing all the farmers who have been wronged by Surrett that mob rule ("Come on, boys, let's take 'em out to the plaza") is out of the question. Regardless, all in all, Hatton was quite capable of his new job and was off to a good start cleaning up the town. Meanwhile, Hatton, Abbie and the likable newspaperman Joe Clemens (Frank McHugh) uncover evidence of Surrett's shady dealings enough to stand a chance in court. Before Joe could publish a story, one of Surrett's thugs, Yancey (Victor Jory) shoots the editor in the back. The only witness who can put Surrett behind bars now is Abbie whom Hatton, out of love for her, arranges to leave town for safety until further notice.
When Yancey is in jail for Joe's killing, Hatton has to protect him against the furious men outside who, not caring for Yancey's right to a fair trial, want to take the law into their own hands and lynch him right then and there. Intending to ensure that Yancey deserves a fair trial, Hatton and Rusty were able to manage to smuggle him out of town in a hearse to the train station whereas a train (which Abbie happens to be on) for Wichita was just about to leave. However, Surrett and his gang were waiting and sneak board to try and spring Yancey. A gunfight then ensues and inadvertently causes a fire in the baggage car. Fearing for Hatton's life, Abbie rushes to the baggage car to warn him of the danger. Using her as a shield, Surrett orders Hatton and Rusty to release Yancey immediately. Afterwards, Surrett locks Hatton, Abbie and Rusty in the burning car. After the three manage to escape from the car, Hatton and Rusty kill Surrett and his gang who were trying to make a getaway.
In the end, Hatton succeeds in both overwhelming and catching the baddies and winning Abbie's heart. Everything has been prepared for a quiet family life in newly civilized Dodge City, but Hatton is asked by Colonel Dodge to clean up Virginia City, Nevada, another railroad town more dangerous than Dodge City had ever been. Understanding how much Hatton is needed to settle the West, a loving Abbie heartily suggests she and her new husband join the next wagon train for their new life together.

Tags: murder

Review:
He never felt he was suited for them in the way Johnny Wayne was (that's right, that's how he referred to the Duke), but that he went with the flow at Warner Brothers.In addition to giving Flynn technicolor and his favorite leading lady Olivia DeHavilland, Warner Brothers gave him a script with an Indian attack, a wagon train, a saloon brawl, a cattle drive and the usual results when at the end of a cattle drive the cowboys start celebrating and one blazing railroad train.
Lots of western clichés, but served up very well indeed.Bruce Cabot the town boss of Dodge City and henchman Victory Jory make some big money in many ways by keeping the town as rough and wild as possible.
DeMille's UNION PACIFIC), and while Michael Curtiz' DODGE CITY may not be in quite the same league, it represented a considerable gamble for Warner Brothers, and had a major impact on the career of it's star, Errol Flynn.Prior to DODGE CITY, there had NEVER been a successful western with a non-American leading man; foreign actors were considered too alien to the settings and action of this most American of genres.
Coming off the most prolific year of his career (THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, THE DAWN PATROL), Flynn had become such a box office draw that the WB decided it was worth the risk to star him in a big-budget western.The risk paid off, as DODGE CITY was a major hit for the studio!As Wade Hatton, an adventurous 'soldier of fortune' who decides to try his hand herding cattle in the 'Wild West', Flynn looks too boyishly handsome to be true...but teamed (yet again!) with Alan Hale and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams (a new 'drinking buddy' for his off-screen carousing), he proves himself more than a match against the desperadoes ever present in these films.
When his boss, Col. Dodge (veteran WB character actor Henry O'Neill), needs a man to bring law and order to the town named after him, the fast-shooting, incorruptible Hatton (loosely based on Wyatt Earp), is his only choice.Of course, with Flynn present, it was nearly inevitable that Olivia de Havilland would be on hand, as well, although a tragedy early in the story would delay their romance for a bit.
Meanwhile, corrupt town boss Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot, another off-screen pal of Flynn), plots to rid 'his' streets of the annoying crusading sheriff.Adding to the fun is rising star Ann Sheridan, as a saloon singer who is also Surrett's mistress.
In her first film with Flynn, she matches his rakish, 'devil-may-care' attitude, and would go on to make two more movies with him (EDGE OF DARKNESS and SILVER RIVER).Featuring broad comedy by Hale and Williams (including one of the most memorable barroom brawls in screen history), a terrific large-scale climactic shootout, and Flynn and de Havilland's potent on-screen chemistry, DODGE CITY offered audiences all the elements they expected in a western...with Technicolor (one of the first major westerns to use it), and a famous Max Steiner score, to 'sweeten' the mix.There is a curious twist at the film's end; Dodge City now tamed, Col. Dodge informs our heroes that another community, Virginia City, needs their help, in what looks like an obvious lead-in for a sequel.
While VIRGINIA CITY would be made, in 1940, again directed by Curtiz, with a Max Steiner score that repeated the DODGE CITY themes, and starring Flynn, Hale, and Williams, their names would be different, and the film would NOT be a sequel to DODGE CITY!With the success of DODGE CITY, Errol Flynn proved his profitability in westerns, which would became a staple of his career.
Rusty preaches temperance, but is gradually overcome by the tempting sounds of the saloon punch-up.Wade's clean-up policy is depicted skilfully in the scene where a newspaper headline dissolves into the arrival of peaceful settlers by train, showing us neatly how Dodge is being tamed.Verdict - A good-natured western with appealing performances by Flynn and de Havilland..
the town that knew no ethics but cash and killing".Enter trail boss Wade Hatton, cunningly disguised as a dashing Errol Flynn........Dodge City, an all action Western from start to finish, finds Errol Flynn {in his first Western outing} on tip top form.
The Irishman Wade Hatton (Errol Flynn) is a man adapted to these days and presently is conducting a group of pioneers, including Abbie Irving (Olivia de Havilland) and her reckless brother, to Dodge City.
He tries to clean up the cattle town, ruled by the powerful outlaw Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot) and his gang, with the support of the decent local people."Dodge City" is a western with an excellent pace.
For the most part it's a typical product of Warner Brothers' golden era, with Flynn's usual supporting cast, including Olivia de Havilland, Alan Hale, and Guinn Williams.The film does have one very interesting sequence, especially in light of future movie history.
The taming of the wicked city of the west is left to Errol Flynn, the new sheriff who has to convince the pretty newspaperwoman (de Havilland) that he is not the man she despises for shooting her errant brother (William Lundigan).
This is an exciting film dealing with western expansion following the Civil War. Michael Curtiz's expert directing along with a strong cast and great story make for one interesting film.We have Bruce Cabot as usual playing a villain.
The bodies begin to mount.After a tragedy befalls a child whose father had been killed by the Cabot character, Flynn, a cattle dealer, decides to clean up the lawless town.Earlier, we meet Olivia De Havilland with her irresponsible, reckless brother, played by a very young William Lundigan.
When his drunken shooting causes a cattle stampede with death (including his own) and destruction ensuing, his sister (Olivia) despises Hatton (Flynn) for firing the shot that ultimately killed her brother.Ann Sheridan plays a dance hall queen who will cover up for the brutal Cabot.
This movie also feels totally fresh, even though it features all of the formulaic elements, such as a saloon-fight, cattle-driving, card-playing, a hero who becomes sheriff, scruffy looking villains and stuff like that.
A good and quality movie, that's very well worth watching, even if you're not familiar with the work of Errol Flynn or Michael Curtiz or are not at home in the '30's/'40's western type of movie.8/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
Indeed, everyone from Vin Diesel to Jason Statham seems to take a page out of his book and watching Flynn's films only makes you appreciate even more his talent.Here, Flynn takes charge in a Western as sheriff of a seedy cattle town in dusty Kansas as he attempts to overthrow the corrupt cattle buyers that also run the town of Dodge City.
Bruce Cabot is good as the antagonist Jeff Surett, but these kind of films are thin on plot and strong on lavish sets, costumes, and romance.To provide that romance, we have the dashing Sheriff Wade Hatton and the lovely but stubborn Abbie Irving, played by the remarkably warm and beautiful Olivia de Havilland.
Errol Flynn rides to his first western in this Technicolor movie from 1939.Michael Curtiz' Dodge City is a fantastic western.Flynn plays Wade Hatton who has to safe the city where violence flourishes.It is ran by the villainous Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot).He runs the city with the ways of a dictator telling what to do and what to say.The citizens are helpless until Wade comes to safe the day.There is also a lady along.She's Abbie Irving, played by who else but the wonderful Olivia De Havilland.Soon there might be romance that flourishes.Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland work great together in this film as they always did.Whether they were in the Sherwood forest or in a western town, there was always chemistry between them.Bruce Cabot makes a fine villain.Alan Hale brings some comedy to the picture playing Rusty Hart.The brilliant Henry Travers is Dr.Irving.I must also mention the kid Bobs Watson, who plays Harry Cole.The scenes with him are the most moving in this film.I really enjoyed this western story.They should make more movies like this today..
He'd already been a pirate and an outlaw for director Michael Curtiz, but in 1939 Errol Flynn was cast in the rather unexpected role of sheriff Wade Hatton in Dodge City, part of the western boom of 1939.Dodge City is home to practically every western genre cliché in existence  cattle drives, covered wagons, lynch mobs, bar brawls and so on.
If you're casting Errol Flynn in his first western after audiences have accepted him as Robin Hood and Captain Blood, you're not going to make something like Stagecoach.Having said all that, in spite of its lack of depth, Dodge City truly is a quintessential western in that its underlying theme is the most common idea that unites virtually every western ever made  the friction between the old and the new, and the forging of the American civilization.
You can accept the hissable villain and dashing, perfect hero in an over-the-top swashbuckler movie, but in the old west setting they don't seem to work so well.Errol Flynn would later play some great roles in westerns (for example, They Died with Their Boots On), but here he is really just playing Robin Hood in a Stetson, and only the vaguest attempt at an American accent (although, like Captain Blood, he's supposed to be an Irishman here, making his plummy English tones even more bizarre).
Curtiz was great at handling these large scale action scenes, but none of the smaller stand-offs really get off the ground.Dodge City is a certainly watchable film, but there are far better westerns from this period, not to mention far better Errol Flynn films..
Similarly, Randolph Scott, Joel McCrae, Gary Cooper, and Clint Eastwood are often associated with this genre.Errol Flynn is better known for his swashbuckling roles in movies such as "Captain Blood" and "The Sea Hawk", but "Dodge City" is an impressive debut for him in a horse opera.He plays an adventurer, of sorts, who's been a soldier and a revolutionary, and, when his character is introduced in the film, he's a cowboy and a former buffalo hunter.
He eventually becomes sheriff who brings justice to a lawless Dodge City.It's a solid movie with all the necessary elements for a good story: a dashing hero, a charming damsel (played by Olivia de Havilland) who eventually finds herself in distress, a few moments of comic relief (provided by the characters played by Alan Hale and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) and a climactic fight in which the good guys win over the baddies.This movie was one of several westerns that Flynn made, including "Virginia City", "Rocky Mountain", and the terrific, though historically inaccurate, "They Died With Their Boots On".
With Guinn Big Boy Williams and Alan Hale supplying the comic sidekick roles, the movie moves along at a steady and enjoyable pace.Flynn is the cowboy finally willing to clean up the town after the death of a boy.
A Good Old-Fashioned Shoot-'em-Up. This is a rousing western with great ingredients: Errol Flynn, Olivia De Haviland, Michael Curtiz direction, Max Steiner score, and vivid color.
But it belongs to an earlier generation of western movies that was superseded by many films that later appeared during the golden age of the genre in the late 1940s and 1950s.John Ford's Stagecoach appeared in the same year as Dodge City and already pointed the way forward to a deeper, more grown-up western.
In Dodge City the legendary duet of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland is reunited once again under direction of Michael Curtiz after Captain Blood, The Charge of the Light Brigade and legendary Adventures of Robin Hood.
Dodge City is one of many westerns inspired by life and deeds of legendary Wyatt Earp, who appears here under the name of Wade Hutton and is played by Errol Flynn.
Dodge City is a genuine classic featuring some of the most memorable sequences in the history of westerns, such as a spectacular saloon fight, many times imitated in later films but never surpassed.
The whole time I was hoping that with such accomplished thespians as Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan, Bruce Cabot, Victor Jory, Alan Hale (need I go on?), directed by Michael Curtiz no less, something, anything, would elevate this film.
A gunfight on a speeding train on fire while bad guys ride on horses alongside closes the movie.There is symbolism here, like the opening shot of a stagecoach trying unsuccessfully to keep up with a fast-moving "iron horse." The town growth shows the changing West after the Civil War. There are various errors in the film, though.
The direction (Michael Curtiz) and Technicolor cinematography (Sol Polito) combine for some outstanding scenes and images.******** Dodge City (4/1/39) Michael Curtiz ~ Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Bruce Cabot, Ann Sheridan.
Flynn makes a dashing hero in his first Western, one of five films he made with de Havilland and Hale.
Michael Curtiz teams up with Errol Flynn and Oliva de Havilland yet again, what a relationship!This time, it's the wild west as Errol Flynn has to fight the corrupt villains in Dodge City.Terrific performances, totally immersed in the western!The direction is great, Curtiz's experiment with colour continues.
Dodge City (1939) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Former trailboss Wade Hatton (Errol Flynn) takes the Sheriff job in Dodge City to clean the town up, which includes taking care of the top bad guy (Bruce Cabot).
The film's got a lot going for it -- wisecracking script, bright colour, great music, and moments of sudden shocking darkness amid a generally easy-going plot -- but while it's pretty good, it isn't Errol Flynn's finest hour, and it isn't among the greatest Westerns either.
A whole-hearted flashing smile is in evidence for the comedy scenes, on the other hand, which are probably the film's strong point: a quality script is matched by Flynn's own natural aptitude for mischief, and by a transparently genuine bond between him, Alan Hale and Guinn Williams as a cheerful scene-stealing threesome.Considered as a Western, "Dodge City" is admittedly a ripe collection of clichés, from the gold spike driven into the final sleeper to the cattle stampede, the villain threatening the crusading journalist, the lynch mob at the jail, the dance-hall queen, the poker game, the corrupt saloon owner, the horses galloping alongside the speeding train, the men clambering over its roof...
The tragedy at the beginning that antagonises de Havilland's character from Flynn's is not out of the standard wagon train story, and the sequences where Abbie finds herself employment as a columnist in a newspaper office -- to the disapproval of Wade, of her uncle, and everyone else -- are among the most striking in the film.It's odd, because this picture isn't an especially good vehicle for Olivia de Havilland; her character is completely wasted during the final showdown (despite being the only one to notice what is going on, she is used simply as a liability to the men), she has relatively little screen-time compared to the male trio, and with the exception of the newspaper-office scenes, the character has little to do save look pretty.
Errol Flynn plays Wade Hutton a cattle herd groupie turned suave, tough sheriff of Dodge City.
Though the elements are glaringly contrived, the film still manages to generally pull them all together into an adequate whole, and there are some good comic moments and decent performances.Errol Flynn looked far more at home with a sword than a six shooter, but, while not John Wayne, he's fine here as the goodguy cowpoke pressed into service as Sheriff when things in Dodge get a little too nasty.
'Dodge City' had a huge amount going for it, with a great director like Michael Curtiz ('The Adventures of Robin Hood', 'Casablanca') and with a cast like Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Alan Hale, Bruce Cabot, Victor Jory, Ann Sheridan and Guinn Williams.While not the best, or one of the best films, of all involved, 'Dodge City' is still a very good and very entertaining film.
Good Errol Flynn western.The story of a cattle agent who takes on the role of Sheriff of Dodge City, having seen its lawlessness, and decides to clean up the town.
"Dodge City" is Warner Bros.' action star Errol Flynn's attempt at the western genre.
This film is directed by Michael Curtiz, one of Warners' top directors and top-billed by Flynn, a major star, bu this is only an average western, so it gets a grade of B-.
In addition to all the stars, you can really tell Warner Brothers pulled out all the stops because they secured the directorial services of a Hollywood Heavyweight, Michael Curtiz AND they filmed the movie in Technicolor--a relatively rare thing for 1939.The plot involves the widespread lawlessness that come to dominate life in this cattle town.
Ward Bond, et al, must have made as much money in residuals (they made SO MANY FILMS) as the headliners.Erroll Flynn gets the job as sheriff (Wade Hatton) and does a good job in his role.
Errol Flynn is superb, Olivia De Havilland is lovely and there is enough action (train and stagecoach race, bar fights, gun duels, etc) to perfectly fit into a classic, high-calibre Western.
If you enjoy Errol Flynn (he did his own stunts at a time when no one did) and Olivia De Havilland, this film is highly enjoyable.
Flynn plays Wade Hutton, a cattleman like the rest of Dodge City tired of being under the thumb of the ruthless Jeff Surrett(Bruce Cabot).
DODGE CITY was the first Errol Flynn Western, an attempt by Warner Bros to capitalise on renewed big studio interest in the genre (STAGECOACH was released in the same year)and to sell him in an action role where he wasn't swashbuckling the high seas.
The film tells the story of Wade Hamilton (Errol Flynn), an honest to goodness all-American hunky hero who stumbles across danger and adventure  sans Indians  in Dodge City.