Alicia I love this movie so much

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

classicsoncall In another weird coincidence that manages to catch me by surprise with my movie viewing pastime, this is the second film in a row I've watched to feature a character with the name Cherry. Yesterday it was "Road to Singapore" in which actress Judith Barrett portrayed a character with that nickname. Here it was Loretta Young, not exactly a Western movie mainstay, going by the name of Cherry de Longpre.Well I didn't quite know what to make of this picture until some way in as Coop's Melody Jones never broke character as a bumbling cowpoke. His sidekick George (William Demarest) managed to show more gumption most of the time, and after a while I wondered if Cooper might not have made the better sidekick in a different picture. Bottom line is he's no Will Kane here, with an approach diametrically opposed to the portrayal he gives in that classic of the genre, "High Noon".What was constantly distracting for me was the frequent use of rear projection photography for the most mundane of riding scenes whenever Melody, George and/or Cherry took to horseback. I can't imagine why it wouldn't have been easier to simply shoot those scenes in some available countryside instead of a sound stage. It just didn't make sense to me, and because it was so blatantly apparent, whenever a scene like that occurred I had to chuckle.But maybe that was intended to be part of the whole Western movie spoof that seemed to be going on here. Melody kept bumping his head into things and dropped his gun every time he tried to use it; it's surprising he didn't hurt himself. So one had to wonder how Coop would have fared if it ever came to a showdown with the desperado everyone else thought he was in the first place. With the genre already turned upside down, it made perfect sense that the real Monte Jarrad (Dan Duryea) would get taken out by his long time gal pal Cherry. Doesn't that just sink the duck?

jc-osms I'm a big Gary Cooper fan, but even the Coop's by this time ageing skills can't rescue this comedy-western from mediocrity.The plot is contrived, scenes are too long, characters and situations are poorly drawn - in truth, as a movie it just drags and sags to its predictable happy-ending finish.The problem for me is that the older Cooper got, the less believable his country bumpkin persona convinces. Here familiarity really does breed contempt, and while his Melody Jones character gets into some heated clinches with the alluring but otherwise out of place Loretta Young, in truth there's little other chemistry between them and you can't imagine her really throwing over the at least mildly dangerous desperado Dan Duryea, whose abilities are wasted here on an underwritten part, for slow-walking, slow talking Jones.The action sequences are pretty inactive, to be frank, the laughs are few and far between (Jones' hat falling off every time he enters a room is about the height of the humour), conveyed by pretty lumpen direction and by the end you realise that the film is something of an epitaph for the comedy-western genre. Tougher, more realistic westerns were just around the corner (Ford's "My Darling Clementine", Gregory Peck's "The Gunfighter" and James Stewart's collaborations with Anthony Mann, to name but a few examples) and Cooper was to find his last great role when he eschewed the overdone country hick in favour of the dignified seriousness of the marshal in the classic "High Noon".I love the Coasters' hit song of the same name as this film, penned by the great Leiber and Stoller partnership from a few years later than this and before watching, had hoped it had been inspired by a rollickingly funny and richly entertaining movie.I was wrong.

ccthemovieman-1 Basically, this is an entertaining western that sports a combination of suspense, action, romance and comedy. It also features an interesting cast, with names like Gary Cooper, Loretta Young, William Demarest and Dan Duryea.Cooper, as "Melody Jones," plays his normal low-key hero role and Demarest provides most of the laughs. Young is attractive and plays an intriguing character and Duyea does what he does best: play the villain. However, the latter has a smaller role than usual.This is corny in spots, but it was meant to be since this is supposed to be a spoof of westerns. The only thing that didn't come off well was the special-specials, but they weren't much back in the days of this film but they are very dated now.A nice, lightweight enjoyable satire.

longicadus I liked it a lot. A movie that didn't get the recognition it deserves. Typical Gary Cooper, terse and insightful in the fashion of the times. I will never forget the song he sang that goes on and on. I was a kid when I saw this and memorized about 20 verses of "Old Joe Clark" back then. Loretta played a good part and her role should be emulated by the fairer gender today. Dan Durey played his usual tough guy role, but did a credible job. I would like to see it come out again or perhaps a remake, however, I don't know anyone in Hollywood that can imitate Cooper. Just for grins this was the movie we watched in Denver when we were inducted in the Army. Black and white is a medium that should live forever.