Support Your Local Sheriff

Support Your Local Sheriff uses as the basis for its comedy the many clichés that have become part and parcel of the Western genre.  Whether it’s the town dominated by a tyrant, the never-missing gunfighter, the absolutely pure hero, the chaste but unchased maiden , the growth of the territory – they’re all dealt with and done under, by demolishing dialogue or just enough exaggeration to point up the ridiculous in even the most respectable circumstances.  James Garner is delightful as the ‘stranger’ riding into town on his way to Australia, so modes, yet so perfect in his various abilities – never missing a shot, turning the town derelict into his deputy, outthinking the Danbys (a superb quartet of villains) outwitting the attempts of the mayor’s daughter to land him until he’s ready.  The action almost never moves beyond the tiny town’s limits, and the community itself seems just enough exaggerated to let the audience know that it’s not to be taken seriously.  It’s just a well written comedy.