Dodge City (1939)

This is the film that inspired the Mel Brook's classic 'Blazing Saddles.' Classic Warner Brothers Western about a cowboy out to tame the wild west. Famout for a great barroom brawl scene.Running Time: 104 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/MISC. UPC: 012569528024 Product Description

Errol Flynn - In His First Western

Errol Flynn and Olivia de Haviland together -- this time in a western. Westerns were not Errol's favorite genre. The chemistry between the two stars is great, though the story is not as strong as some of his other movies. It is the smaller characters like Alan Hale that make this movie. An interesting tidbit is that the group "Pure Prairie League" got its name from a scene in this movie; see if you can figure out from where. Again, a fun movie for everyone. May 9, 2008

Errol and Olivia's sagebrush debut

Errol Flynn, the swashbuckling king of Warner Bros., defied his harshest critics when he saddled up for 1939's Technicolor western DODGE CITY. Immensely enjoyable (even for non-fans of the genre), this movie would pioneer plot-devices and action scenes that became staples of all western films; and would also serve as the inspiration behind Mel Brooks' comedic masterpiece "Blazing Saddles".

Newly-appointed sheriff Wade Hatton (Errol Flynn) is faced with the task of cleaning up the lawless, bullet-ridden Dodge City; not the least of which Surrett (Bruce Cabot) and his gang of vicious criminals.

Flynn was reunited with his regular cohorts Olivia de Havilland and Alan Hale (as his strong-willed love interest and comedic sidekick respectively). Ann Sheridan has a small supporting role as Surrett's saloon girlfriend Ruby--she looks spectacular in Technicolor. The cast also features Victor Jory, Frank McHugh and Henry Travers.

The DVD features new Making-Of doco ("Go West, Errol Flynn"), Merrie Melodies cartoon "Dangerous Dan McFoo", newsreel, trailer, and the Oscar-winning Technicolor short subject "Sons of Liberty" starring Claude Rains and Gale Sondergaard.

Get out your ten-gallon hat, sit back and enjoy! August 31, 2007

Dodge City

This is an exceedingly good movie and I enjoy watching Westerns from this era. This is a classic Film and great acting included. with a lot of action, Humer
I recommend this movie for the whole family.
I wished that Hollywood Still Made Movies of this Caliber. July 30, 2007

THE ESSENCE OF WESTERN

In opposition to some of the reviewers here, I consider DODGE CITY as a masterpiece. You can find here in 104 minutes a summary of almost every themes found in the western cinematographic genre. For instance, the main theme of DODGE CITY describes the clash between civilization, symbolized by the railroad, and the lawless western territories, then the efforts of the good people to impose the law in Dodge City. Peripheral themes such as the resentments created by the Civil War, the beginning of the creation of cattle empires or the whole problem of pioneering are also handled in DODGE CITY.

All these themes are somehow engulfed in the superb metaphor created by Michael Curtiz that starts with the competition between the iron horse and the stagecoach at the beginning of the movie and ends with the final shooting between Flynn and the villains. In the first scene, Errol Flynn clearly belongs to the wild west and proudly rides on the side of the railroad while, during the last scene, the same Flynn manages to kill the villains, who are on horseback, by shooting at them from the train. It's a brilliant idea that summarizes this indispensable movie.

A DVD zone your library. June 20, 2007

Enjoyable but not quite a classic

Dodge City doesn't hold up as well as other Errol Flynn classics, partially because the film seems to be trying a little too hard to throw everything into the mix, with the through line of the story suffering as a consequence. In many ways it's really just a B-movie with A-movie production values, glorious Technicolor (albeit somewhat inconsistent in the new DVD due to the mastering problems with the old three-strip system elements) and a great supporting cast, and never quite catches fire the way it should despite being more than entertaining enough.

Still, the DVD does include among its plentiful extras the superb Tex Avery cartoon The Shooting of Dan McFoo, so I didn't feel shortchanged. Also included is the original trailer built around colour footage of the film's Dodge City premiere, a retrospective featurette 'Go West, Errol Flynn,' short historical drama 'Sons of Liberty,' brief newsreel extract and a trailer for Jimmy Cagney Western The Oklahoma Kid.
May 29, 2007

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