Even if you never saw Destry, you may have seen an imitation of her performance elsewhere: In Blazing Saddles, for instance, Madeline Kahn (as "Lili von Shtupp") does a wicked Dietrich impersonation. Dressed scantily, she sings a world-weary cabaret number in a saloon. In fact, just about all female saloon performers in post-1939 westerns are shadows of Dietrich to some extent.
Interestingly, the novel by Max Brand upon which Destry is based does not even include Dietrich's character. It was an invention, and a fortuitous one at that, by the screenwriters. Of course, it might not have worked if Dietrich had not been talked into taking the role. Other than Garbo, was there anyone else so sympathetic in portraying a fallen woman?
On the other hand, the movie might have been very good, even without Dietrich. The story of a non-violent sherriff's deputy who brings law and order to the town of Bottleneck, the film features one of Jimmy Stewart's most genial and humorous performances, not to mention character appearances from such indelible performers as Brian Donlevy, Una Merkel, Mischa Auer, and the great Billy Gilbert. It wouldn't have been an immortal film without Dietrich, however. It is likely that without her it would end up as obscure as the 1954 remake starring Audie Murphy. It takes the great Dietrich to turn a good western into an all-time classic.
Bottleneck is the roughest, toughest, sleaziest town on the map, filled with thieves, cheats, and murderers. We know it is rough and tough because of the blatant card cheating and fighting we see going on. We know it is sleazy because Marlene Dietrich lives there, and in the thirties, she was the personification of sex. If you saw her in the movie, you knew it was not going to be about nuns.
When one town resident complains to the sherriff about the dirty card game that just conned him out of his property, the lawman goes to investigate, and pays for it with his life. Naturally, a new sherriff is needed, so the town drunk is chosen by acclamation. The drunk, Wash Dimsdale (Charles Winninger), surprises everyone, however, by rising to the occasion and actually intending to administer the law. This he does by inviting legendary lawman and gunslinger Tom Destry to be his deputy. Tom died some while ago, however, and it is his son (Stewart) who comes riding into town on a stagecoach.
It seems that Destry is an unusual kind of enforcer: he doesn't carry a gun, and resolves most situations by talking sense into people. The criminals are amused at this attitude, while those who were expecting a tough-as-nails enforcer of justice are disappointed. Eventually, however, he does start bringing order to the small town. As one of the principal "bad guys," Frenchy even finds herself being strongly attracted to this unusual man.
Eventually, however, in a bit of a cop-out ending, Destry finally does take force into his own hands, to end the reign of Kent (Donlevy), the land-grabber and murderer of the previous sherriff. Frenchy dies, perhaps because such a "fallen woman" could not end up at the hero's side.
The plot is creaky, we've seen it all before, but that is immaterial. Jimmy Stewart was at his best in what Dietrich called the "where's my other shoe" school of acting. He is charming, self-effacing, and funny. The large supporting cast all has individual moments to shine, while Dietrich gets a spectacular musical number. Atop the bar, she sings "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have," and really sells the number, which consequently became associated with her as much as "Falling in Love Again" had previously. Dietrich is both willful and insecure, as a basically decent woman who allowed herself to do some bad things, but is redeemed at the end.
Dietrich starred in a few dozen films, but I believe in Destry Rides Again she was at both her funniest and sexiest. Forgive me if I tend to ramble on about La Dietrich, but her performance is such that all the others tend to fade in comparison. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a legend.
Four stars
Copyright 1998 by Dale G. Abersold
