Destry (1954) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe)

In the old West, a small frontier town is being controlled by ruthless mob boss Decker (Lyle Bettger) and his cronies. After the local sheriff dies under mysterious circumstances, Decker arranges to have the town drunk (Thomas Mitchell) appointed sheriff, thinking he will be ineffectual. But the new sheriff sends for Tom Destry, son of a famous two-fisted lawman, to be his deputy. When Tom (Audie Murphy) arrives, he isn't exactly the swaggering he-man the sheriff had in mind. In fact, Destry doesn't even carry a gun. But the new deputy's mild exterior masks a fierce determination to see justice done, as Decker and the other locals soon discover.
Audie Murphy ... Tom Destry
Mari Blanchard ... Brandy
Lyle Bettger ... Phil Decker
Thomas Mitchell ... Reginald T. 'Rags' Barnaby
Edgar Buchanan ... The Honorable Hiram J. Sellers, Mayor
Lori Nelson ... Martha Phillips
Wallace Ford ... Doc Curtis
Mary Wickes ... Bessie Mae Curtis
Alan Hale Jr. ... Jack Larson
George Wallace ... Curly Adams
Richard Reeves ... Mac
Walter Baldwin ... Henry Skinner
Lee Aaker ... Eli Skinner
Director: George Marshall
Runtime: 95 mins
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046906/
Codecs:
Video : 591 MB, 874 Kbps, 29.970 fps, 656*480 (4:3), DX50 = DivXNetworks Divx v5,
Audio : 108 MB, 160 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 channels, 0x55 = MPEG Layer-3, VBR,
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Destry Rides Again was very good, and Jimmy Stewart certainly has a cowboy persona, but that's not the first image that comes to mind when we think of this great actor.
Audie Murphy, on the other hand couldn't be more cowboy - Texas born and a super-hero FOR REAL, not the phony John Wayne type, and what's even better is that he's not a strapping hulk, he's an unassuming, charming, perpetual kid with a quiet inner strength. We think of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, but Audie Murphy tops them all. If he only could sing, everyone would know that.
And Destry is his shining star. He's so good in the role, you watch almost the way you watch Casablanca. In fact, there seems to be a lot of similarity between Rick and Tom - they do what they need to do in unconventional ways, with a minimal amount of violence that they are forced to initiate against their wills.
I love westerns, I love Destry, and I love Audie. If only all Americans were like him.
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Sadly, remakes of successful movies are seldom as good as the original films. Destry -- director George Marshall's remake with Audie Murphy of Destry Rides Again, which starred Jimmy Stewart -- is one of the rare exceptions. No, Audie Murphy was not a better actor than Jimmy Stewart. But, given a good script and good direction, Audie Murphy was a far better actor than his many B movies would lead one to expect, and Destry was one of his best performances.
The fact that director George Marshall chose to remake his black and white Jimmy Stewart hit, Destry Rides Again, in Technicolor with Audie Murphy as Destry clearly indicates that Marshall felt his original film could be equaled or improved upon. And, in this viewers opinion, he was right. Both the original and the remake are good westerns but, if one can get past bias toward Jimmy Stewart -- and his co-star Marlene Dietrich -- and evaluate the movies purely on their merit, I believe that Audie Murphy's Destry is the better film. At worst, it is at least as good as the original and deserves to be recognized on its own merits.
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Sometimes remakes do turn out for the best and Audie Murphy was a perfect in the casting of another edition of the Destry saga. I will say this though, Destry's grown up considerable. Audie uses some forensic science to clean up the town and the final gunfight is played a bit more seriously than in the James Stewart-Marlene Dietrich classic.
For those who haven't seen either film, a certain crooked saloon keeper/ town boss has been grabbing land by hook or crook and kills the sheriff who's opposing him. Lyle Bettger is every bit as nasty as Brian Donlevy was. Bettger gets the idea to make the deputy, Thomas Mitchell, the sheriff. Mitchell is the town drunk, but Mitchell fools them and sends for the son of legendary lawman Tom Destry to be his deputy.
When Audie Murphy as Destry comes to town it's without wearing firearms, but in his own quiet way Audie gets results.
Of course saloon girl Mari Blanchard ain't a patch on Marlene Dietrich, but that's pretty stiff competition for anyone. Edgar Buchanan is the mayor and does his usual foxy and calculating part and we're not quite sure where he'll wind up in the end.
Destry is one of Audie Murphy's better B westerns from the Fifties and it shows with the right casting, a classic can be done well a second time.
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Destry Rides Again (1939) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) can be found at: