Sheriff of Tombstone (1941)

the audience applauded

One of my all time favorites.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Having ignored this genre of films for years (due to the enormous amount of material available and the presumed predictability of these films), I have come to enjoy some of them to the point of opening myself up to studying them further. In the case of "Sheriff of Tombstone", I found this one instantly satisfying, whether it be through the mistaken identity plot line or the efforts of the town's sinister mayor to keep gold claim owners from getting their gold to the mint. Roy Rogers is mistaken for a gun-slinging crook because he is holding the man's sawed-off shotgun, and made sheriff of the very corrupt town of Tombstone. Store owner Elyse Knox, granddaughter of the feisty Zeffie Tilbury, at first wants nothing to do with Rogers, believing him to be this bad man, and is surprised when Rogers offers her family help in order to protect her claim. But the real gunslinger arrives and this leads to a show-down between good and evil.Tilbury, a delightfully spry elder lady, steals every scene she is in. Best known to "Our Gang" fans as the cranky old lady who befriends Spanky and the gang in "Second Childhood" and as the grandmother in "The Grapes of Wrath", Tilbury is the type of actress who has you eating out of her hands the moment she pops up on the screen, even though she is in only a few scenes here. She reminds me of Judith Lowry, the elderly character actress of the 1970's whom TV audiences adored for her feisty Mother Dexter on "Phyllis". Sally Payne also offers some amusing moments as George "Gabby" Hayes' estranged daughter who gets to perform a few musical numbers along with Rogers. "B" westerns may not necessarily make you think too much, but they are pleasing time-passers, and this one is among the better ones which I have seen.

"Sheriff of Tombstone" borrows some history from the legend of Wyatt Earp, as Brett Starr (Roy Rogers) says goodbye to Dodge City and heads west to Tombstone to visit family and search for adventure. Along the way he hooks up with friend and judge, Gabby Whitaker (Gabby Hayes), who laments the one wild oat of his callow youth long gone, Diamond Sal. It would have been cool to have a Diamond Sal show up in this story, but Gabby's daughter Queenie (Sally Payne) turns up instead. With a gig as a singer at the Bonanza Saloon, she belts out a fun tune with 'Ya Shoulda Been Pete', and later does a respectable version of 'Don't Gamble With Romance'. It was interesting to see a female singer handling some of the musical chores in between Roy's songs, as more often it would be the Sons of the Pioneers.Once in Tombstone, Roy's character is mistaken for a hired gun the town boss has brought in to help take over control of the Carson silver mine. The Carson 'gang' is run by seventy seven year old Granny Carson (Zeffie Tilbury), but it doesn't take long for Roy to figure out that Mayor Luke Keeler (Addison Richards) and the sheriff in his pocket (Hal Taliaferro) are the real bad guys. Another B Western veteran, Jay Novello, is also on hand in an interesting role with two identities who sides with the villains.Roy and Gabby almost make it look too easy as they take down the baddies in short order, including Shotgun Cassidy (Harry Woods), the outlaw who's identity Roy assumed at the start of the picture. Roy takes a bullet in the course of the story, and you know that doesn't happen too often. When he's not busting up the bad guys, Roy handles a couple of tunes as well, starting out the picture with 'Ridin' on a Rocky Road', and joining in with Gabby later on 'Sons of the Western Soil'. All in all a fun picture as Roy and Gabby tame Tombstone without too much trouble.

In Sheriff Of Tombstone Roy Rogers plays a Wyatt Earp like character who has quit being the marshal of Dodge City and is going west to Tombstone to be with his brothers and settle down in business. Problem is that Tombstone is a town in bad need of taming. The outlaws as headed by Addison Richards see it that way also and they've sent for a notorious outlaw played by perennial western villain Harry Woods to see it's tamed their way.But Woods meets with a funny accident on the way, courtesy of Gabby Hayes no less who beats him to the draw. This may have been Gabby's finest hour as a western sidekick. Roy arrives ahead of Woods and Richards and his henchmen think Roy is Woods.Of course that doesn't last long, but Rogers is resourceful and you know the bad guys will be brought in line before the end of the final reel.Given the constraints of Republic Pictures budget for a B film, this one is not bad for its type. Elyse Knox who became wife of Tom Harmon and mother of Mark Harmon is the leading lady, she's the granddaughter of the head of a clan of mine owners who Richards and his friends are trying to squeeze out of business. Sally Payne is also around in a role as a spunky saloon girl who does a little espionage for Roy on the side. She gets almost as many musical numbers as Roy in this film.Definitely one for Roy and his devoted legion of fans.

By 1941 the formula for low budget series westerns had long been perfected, but results varied. Sheriff of Tombstone is an excellent choice for an introduction to the genre of B westerns.The best actor of the bunch, as usual, was George "Gabby" Hayes. His character may have had the same name from one movie to the next, but not the same purpose in the story. He could be a wise old cow puncher, an old ranch foreman, aloof sidekick, or even an outlaw. For a pleasant change he was made into a lawyer, "Judge Whitaker" for this picture. Add to that a wife and daughter, which is unusual for not only Gabby, but sidekicks in general. Not bumbling around as a helpless sidekick in this one, he was instead a strong backup gun for Roy's character, Brett Starr.A fine touch on a well made movie comes during an interchange between Gabby and Granny Carson when she answers Gabby with a snappy, "You're dern tootin'!" The reaction on Gabby's face is one of surprise at being the recipient of one of his own signature lines.