Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)

Purely Joyful Movie!

One of my all time favorites.

Admirable film.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Since the consensus on IMDB seems to be that this James Garner vehicle is really outstanding, I'm only adding this short critique to warn hard-boiled and picky viewers that they might be a little disappointed if they're expecting something extraordinary.Sure, James Garner is as charismatic as ever - though in this picture he perhaps overplays his trademark easygoing persona. The supporting actors are all fine as well, and the film moves along quickly and pleasantly. It's a good movie, sure enough.But the script is more 'amusing' than funny, and is by no means as original as it is sometimes made out to be. Might seem that way to folks who aren't western addicts, but if you've seen Destry Rides Again or The Boy From Oklahoma or Cat Ballou or even the Audie Murphy version of Destry, you'll have seen much better satires of the western genre.And if it's pure laughs in a western you're looking for, The Paleface, Son of Paleface and Alias Jesse James are probably at the top of the heap. Still, if you're in the mood for something light, colorful and enjoyable, Support Your Local Sheriff will do nicely. And for Garner fans, it will be a delight.

Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) Starring James Garner on the rise, and riding the new tide of interest in the revised western (along with the great Spaghetti Westerns), this is surpisingly nimble and good. It's vivid and cheerful, and well written with flunny comebacks and a wry sense of absurdity. That's not to say it's a great movie-it isn't "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" at all-but that it's fun like the best television of the time, and with much higher production values. (It reminded me of the slightly earlier "A Big Hand for the Little Lady.") Director Burt Kennedy was a writer more than a director, at first, but he didn't have a hand in the screennplay here (though it is so sharp at times, you wonder if there were some little adjustments as they went). Garner is clearly the star here, and he's handsome with that pleasant smile that made him famous (and carries him through many scenes). Around him are some veteren character actors (including the great Walter Brennan) and they help overall even if they are sometimes caricatured a bit. In truth, the movie might have tipped into greatness with some more subtle direction, getting the irony and silliness to have some style or weight somehow. There's a lot of talent here, a fun idea for a story, and excellent dialog. See it, yes. Good enough that even the sequel ("Support Your Local Gunfighter" with Kennedy and Garner both back in their slots and without an exclamation point) is worth a casual look.

James Garner has an impressive body of work and this is the best of it, even though it's really Elam's movie. It has a great cast, very nice eye candy AND the funny is definitely split 60-40. This is a must see for Garner and Elam fans, maybe not so much for western fans but maybe for fans of comedies. I've been watching this for 5 decades and I can still watch it every 2 - 3 years.

This movie is almost perfect - it does what a comedy is meant to do - it takes you by surprise with its wit and timing. It could not have been better cast as James Garner is at his best as the laid back sheriff of the title. When this was released it was a surprise to see Jack Elam playing comedy rather than the villain he was always cast as. Bruce Dern does his part justice too playing it straight as a die as the local bad boy brought to heel by Garner. The supporting cast are all excellent - the movie is peopled by all the faces you have seen in countless movies, doing their job and, in some cases ,stealing the scenes. I saw this movie when it was new and it still works 43 years later - it has hardly dated. Funny is funny and this film is funny. Enjoy.