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Support Your Local Gunfighter
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBurt Kennedy
Written byJames Edward Grant
Burt Kennedy (uncredited)[1]
Produced byBill Finnegan
Burt Kennedy
StarringJames Garner
Suzanne Pleshette
Harry Morgan
Jack Elam
John Dehner
Marie Windsor
Joan Blondell
Kathleen Freeman
Ellen Corby
CinematographyHarry Stradling Jr.
Edited byWilliam B. Gulick
Music byJack Elliot
Allyn Ferguson
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • May 26, 1971 (1971-05-26)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Support Your Local Gunfighter is a 1971 American comic Western film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring James Garner and Suzanne Pleshette. The screenplay was originally written by James Edward Grant, who died in 1966; Kennedy rewrote it but let Grant keep sole credit. The picture shares many cast and crew members and plot elements with the earlier Support Your Local Sheriff! but is not a sequel. The supporting cast features Jack Elam, Harry Morgan, John Dehner, Marie Windsor, Dub Taylor, Joan Blondell and Ellen Corby.

Garner later wrote that the film was, "not as good as Support Your Local Sheriff".[2]

Plot

[edit]

Latigo Smith, a gambler and confidence man, is traveling by train in frontier-era Colorado with the rich and powerful Goldie. Goldie wants desperately to marry him, a fate he wants to avoid. He hands the train's headwaiter a generous tip to assist him off the train without letting Goldie realize that he is fleeing. He sneaks off the train at Purgatory, a small mining town.

He discovers that two mining companies, run by bitter rivals Taylor Barton and Colonel Ames, are vying to find a "mother lode" of gold buried somewhere nearby. Dynamite blasts periodically rock the town to its foundations.

Latigo consults the town doctor about an embarrassing problem that is not immediately revealed, but turns out to be a large tattoo of Goldie on his chest. Latigo's great weakness is a periodic uncontrollable urge to bet on roulette; he soon loses all of his money playing his "lucky" number, 23. Penniless, he starts romancing local saloon keeper Miss Jenny. Being mistaken for infamous gunslinger "Swifty" Morgan gives Latigo an idea. He talks amiable ne'er-do-well Jug May into impersonating Swifty. Latigo attracts the attention of Patience Barton, the hot-tempered daughter of Taylor (the townsfolk call her "The Sidewinder"), who, desperate to escape her frontier existence, wants to attend "Miss Hunter's College on the Hudson River, New York, for Young Ladies of Good Families", and live a life of refinement in New York City. When Latigo and Jug side with the Bartons in a dispute, Ames sends a telegram to the real Swifty Morgan, informing him of their deception.

Swifty arrives in town and immediately challenges the hapless Jug to a gunfight, but at the appointed time and place, Latigo is there in his place, sitting atop a donkey loaded with crates of dynamite. Swifty calls Latigo's bluff, but he is startled by the next mine explosion and accidentally shoots himself. The blast also panics the donkey, which charges into the Bartons' saloon. The dynamite explodes, blowing up the building, uncovering the mother lode, and removing Latigo's troublesome tattoo but leaving him otherwise uninjured.

Latigo finally wins big at roulette after betting $10,000 of the Bartons' money on number 23. From the back of a train taking Latigo and Patience to Denver to get married, Jug narrates the outcomes: Patience never goes to Miss Hunter's College, but her seven daughters do; Taylor gets his flat fixed and marries Miss Abigail; the Colonel goes broke; "Swifty Morgan's still trying to get his boots off", and Jug goes on to become a big star in Italian Westerns.

Cast

[edit]

A. ^Also appeared in Support Your Local Sheriff!

Production

[edit]

The film was known as Latigo. It was shot in August and September 1970. When finishing, Kennedy wrote in his diary, "Might be a good picture. Had a fight with Jim Garner next-to-the-last night. He played movie star on me."[3]

Bill Bowers, who wrote Support Your Local Sheriff, later recalled:

Burt had dug up an old Jimmy Grant story called Latigo, and he wanted me to do the screenplay, and I didn't like it. I said, "I'd rather start from scratch." Well anyway, Burt sat down and he did a rewrite on it, and he got Jim Garner to do it, and they made Latigo. It was at the last minute they decided to change the title to Support Your Local Gunfighter. But it was kind of crappy of them to do that.[4]

Reception

[edit]

Support Your Local Gunfighter received mixed critical reviews. It holds a 62% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on thirteen reviews.[5]

In the commentary on the Kino Lorber DVD, Michael Schlesinger observes that the story parodies Yojimbo, with the protagonist riding into a quarreling town and hiring himself out to both sides to con everyone. He also notes the plethora of beloved character actors in the cast and believes the picture is much better than its reputation would have it.

A year later, United Artists used B-roll of the train chugging through the mountains for the title sequence of Man of the East.

See also

[edit]

References

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Support Your Local Gunfighter

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Support Your Local Gunfighter is a 1971 American Western comedy film directed by Burt Kennedy, starring James Garner as a con artist mistaken for a legendary gunslinger in a mining boomtown rife with rivalries and chaos.[1] The story centers on Latigo Smith, who flees an unwanted marriage and ends up in the town of Purgatory, where he impersonates the infamous Swifty Morgan to navigate conflicts between two competing gold-mining outfits; his scheme unravels into a series of slapstick escapades, culminating in a massive explosion that uncovers a rich mother lode.[1] Serving as a spiritual sequel to Kennedy's earlier hit Support Your Local Sheriff! (1968), the film was written by James Edward Grant and produced by Kennedy himself under Brigade Productions and Cherokee Productions, with distribution handled by United Artists.[1] The ensemble cast features Suzanne Pleshette as the sharp-witted Patience Barton, Jack Elam in a standout comic role as the one-eyed Jug May, Harry Morgan as the scheming mine owner Taylor Barton, Joan Blondell as the saloon proprietress Jenny, and Chuck Connors as the real Swifty Morgan.[1] Critically, Support Your Local Gunfighter garnered mixed reviews, praised for its humorous take on Western tropes and Elam's performance but criticized for uneven pacing and overreliance on gags; it holds a 62% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews, with an average score of 5.9/10.[2] Roger Ebert awarded it 1.5 out of 4 stars, calling it one of the weaker Western comedies of its era due to its cluttered cast dynamics.[3]

Synopsis and Characters

Plot

Latigo Smith, a quick-witted gambler and con artist, flees a forced marriage to the possessive Goldie by jumping from a train in the small Colorado town of Purgatory. Seeking refuge, he stumbles into a nearby boomtown gripped by intense rivalry between two mining companies owned by Taylor Barton and Colonel Ames, who are locked in a bitter struggle over access to a promising gold deposit. The town's atmosphere is tense with constant dynamite blasts from the competing operations, setting the stage for Latigo's opportunistic schemes.[4] Upon arriving in the boomtown, Latigo is mistaken for the legendary gunslinger Swifty Morgan due to his timely arrival amid rumors of the gunman's expected presence. Meanwhile, he seeks the town doctor's help to remove an embarrassing Goldie-related tattoo on his chest, forcing him to stay longer than planned. Seizing the misunderstanding to settle his debts and turn a profit, Latigo hires the one-eyed, hard-drinking vagrant Jug May to pose as the fearsome gunfighter, while he pulls the strings from afar, directing absurdly staged "gunfights" that parody the genre's dramatic showdowns with slapstick incompetence and bumbling henchmen. The ruse draws offers from both mining factions: Ames wants "Swifty" to sabotage Barton's operations, while Barton seeks protection from Ames's aggression, allowing Latigo to play both sides for escalating payments. Comedic irony abounds as Jug's inept bravado fools no one for long, yet sustains the deception through Latigo's clever misdirection.[5] Tensions boil over when a dynamite mishap in the mines uncovers a massive "mother lode" vein, igniting a frenzied gold rush that descends into chaos with armed clashes between the rival companies' workers. Amid the turmoil, Latigo develops a romantic subplot with Patience Barton, Taylor's feisty and infatuated daughter, a tomboyish sharpshooter eager to escape her provincial life but drawn to Latigo's charm despite her initial attempts to shoot him in jealousy-fueled outbursts. Latigo's manipulations deepen as he exploits the anarchy to extract more money, all while dodging Goldie's pursuing posse and the real Swifty Morgan, whose arrival threatens to unravel everything. The narrative underscores Western comedic tropes through ironic twists, portraying heroism as a facade sustained by deceit rather than marksmanship.[2] The climax unfolds in a explosive confrontation where Latigo rigs a donkey loaded with dynamite to eliminate the real Swifty, who comically shoots himself in the process; the blast scatters the combatants, kills Swifty, removes Latigo's embarrassing chest tattoo, and exposes the ruse to the enraged miners as Jug's incompetence becomes undeniable. With the ruse collapsed and the town in ruins, Latigo redeems the situation by winning $10,000 on a roulette bet—his lucky number 23—enabling him to buy peace, wed Patience, and flee with her and the loyal Jug on a departing train. The resolution leaves Barton and Ames's rivalry resolved through exhaustion and unlikely alliances, emphasizing the film's satirical take on greed and gunplay in the Old West.[4]

Cast

James Garner leads the film as Latigo Smith, a charming con artist who arrives in a mining town and schemes by posing as the manager of a hired gunfighter to manipulate local rivalries.[2] Suzanne Pleshette portrays Patience Barton, the spirited daughter of a mine owner and Latigo's romantic interest, bringing a mix of independence and wit to the role.[1] In supporting leads, Jack Elam plays Jug May, a shifty, one-eyed drifter recruited to impersonate a notorious gunslinger, delivering his signature eccentric humor.[6] Harry Morgan appears as Taylor Barton, the pragmatic mine owner and Patience's father, whose performance echoes his authoritative yet comedic presence in Westerns.[1] John Dehner embodies Colonel Ames, the bombastic rival mining boss with ambitions of grandeur.[7] The ensemble includes Marie Windsor as Goldie, the shrewd town madam who aids in the town's colorful underbelly, and Joan Blondell as Jenny, the no-nonsense saloon owner facilitating key social interactions.[1] Dub Taylor provides comic relief as Doc Schultz, the bumbling, inebriated town physician.[6] Ellen Corby plays Abigail Ames, the colonel's prim wife adding domestic satire, while Kathleen Freeman is Mrs. Perkins, contributing to the film's array of quirky townsfolk. Chuck Connors portrays the real Swifty Morgan, the notorious gunslinger whose arrival endangers Latigo's scheme.[6][1] Notable for continuity in Burt Kennedy's oeuvre, actors like Garner, Elam, and Morgan reprise familiar Western archetypes from the director's prior comedy Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)—such as unreliable deputies or scheming locals—but in entirely new characters tailored to this sequel's con-man premise.[8]

Production

Development

The screenplay for Support Your Local Gunfighter was written by James Edward Grant, based on his original story titled Latigo, which served as the film's working title during early development.[4] Grant's script marked his final film credit, as he had passed away in 1966, and the project was positioned by United Artists as a comedic follow-up to the successful 1969 Western parody Support Your Local Sheriff!, which had similarly blended humor with genre tropes.[4] Director Burt Kennedy was brought on board due to his established track record in Western comedies, including directing Support Your Local Sheriff!, allowing for continuity in tone and style.[1] The title was ultimately changed from Latigo to Support Your Local Gunfighter to capitalize on the branding and audience goodwill from the earlier film, emphasizing its satirical take on gunslinger archetypes.[4] Casting centered on reuniting James Garner in the lead role as the con artist Latigo Smith, leveraging his charismatic everyman persona and proven chemistry from the prior picture to anchor the mistaken-identity premise.[1] Suzanne Pleshette was selected as the romantic interest, Patience Barton, to provide a spirited counterpart that enhanced the film's blend of wit and light romance.[1] The production was handled by William Finnegan under Cherokee Productions and Brigade Productions, with United Artists handling distribution, reflecting a modest-scale effort typical of mid-budget Western comedies of the era aimed at parodying spaghetti Western influences such as Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo.[4][9]

Filming

Principal photography for Support Your Local Gunfighter took place from mid-August to mid-September 1970, primarily on the western street set at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles, California.[4] Most scenes were shot at night to minimize smog and avoid a artificial studio appearance.[1] Additional filming occurred over one day at Disney's Golden Oak Ranch in Newhall, California, while the opening and closing train sequences utilized the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado.[1][10] The film was lensed in DeLuxe color by cinematographer Harry Stradling Jr., employing a 1.85:1 aspect ratio for widescreen presentation.[1] Editing was handled by William B. Gulick, with the musical score composed by Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson, featuring lively Western motifs to underscore the comedic tone.[11][1] Production proceeded efficiently under director Burt Kennedy, leveraging the controlled studio environment to capture the film's chaotic mining town antics, though the nighttime schedule presented logistical adjustments for the crew.[4]

Release and Commercial Performance

Premiere and Distribution

The film was released theatrically in the United States on May 26, 1971, by United Artists, marking its wide domestic debut following production completion earlier that year.[2] It received a G rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, suitable for all audiences due to its comedic tone and mild violence.[4] Distribution extended internationally soon after, with releases in key European markets including the United Kingdom on May 14, 1971, West Germany on June 3, 1971, and France on September 8, 1971, handled through United Artists' global network.[12] The rollout emphasized a broad theatrical strategy to capitalize on the Western comedy genre's popularity. Promotional efforts included official trailers that showcased James Garner's charismatic lead role and the film's satirical take on gunfighter legends, distributed to theaters and broadcast media.[13] Vintage posters featuring the cast and Western motifs were produced for lobby displays and advertising, supporting the marketing push.[14] Early television syndication rights were acquired by networks in the mid-1970s, providing additional exposure beyond theaters, though specific broadcast dates varied by region.

Box Office

It earned $2.1 million in domestic rentals and $970,000 in international rentals, for a total of $3.07 million in rentals.[15] The film achieved a solid return on its low budget, performing respectably as a modest success despite competition from major releases such as Dirty Harry and The French Connection, though it did not rank among the top-grossing films of 1971.[16] The success was driven in part by strong word-of-mouth among family audiences.

Critical and Cultural Reception

Initial Reviews

Upon its release in 1971, Support Your Local Gunfighter garnered mixed critical reception, with some praise for its comedic performances and Western parody elements offset by complaints about its formulaic plot and uneven execution. The film holds a 62% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 13 reviews.[2] Positive critiques focused on the cast's contributions, particularly Jack Elam's standout turn as the one-eyed gunslinger Jug May. The Los Angeles Times noted that Elam, "ever the crazy-eyed reprobate, threatens to walk off with the entire movie in what is probably his biggest role to date," highlighting his ability to inject humor into the proceedings.[4] Reviewers often lauded the comic timing of supporting players like Elam and Harry Morgan, whose portrayal of the scheming mine owner Taylor Barton added levity to the gold rush town's chaos. However, several prominent reviews were mixed to negative, critiquing the direction and pacing. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times dismissed it as "possibly the worst Western comedy of modern times," faulting Burt Kennedy's direction for an overreliance on character actors who each "do[ ] his bit" without cohesive wit or timing, especially in the film's drawn-out third act.[3] Similarly, Vincent Canby in The New York Times described the ensemble's constant shouting as "desperate vivacity" that failed to generate good feeling, portraying the parody of Western tropes—like the drifter mistaken for a legendary gunman—as more aggravating than amusing, despite James Garner's understated charm.[17] Critics frequently positioned the film as a spiritual successor to the more successful Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969), appreciating the return of Garner, Elam, and Morgan but lamenting the sequel's lesser spark in spoofing familiar genre clichés such as rival mining factions and hired gunslingers.[1] The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes stands at 61%, reflecting somewhat greater appreciation for its lighthearted cult appeal among viewers.[2]

Legacy and Home Media

Over time, Support Your Local Gunfighter has developed a cult following, particularly through frequent television broadcasts in the 1980s and 1990s that introduced younger audiences to its satirical take on Western tropes.[18] The film's comedic elements, including its parody of gunfighter archetypes, influenced subsequent Western spoofs, with footage from its opening and closing title sequences repurposed as B-roll in the 1972 Italian comedy Man of the East (also known as E poi lo chiamarono il Magnifico).[19] This reuse highlights the movie's visual style and train sequence as emblematic of the era's lighthearted genre deconstructions.[20] In retrospective analyses, the film has been praised for its homage to Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961), with film historian Michael Schlesinger noting in his audio commentary how the plot's con-man mistaken for a gunslinger echoes the Japanese classic while infusing it with American humor.[21] Following James Garner's death in 2014, the movie featured prominently in tributes to his career, including obituaries that highlighted his roguish charm in Burt Kennedy's Western comedies as a key part of his legacy.[22] These modern reevaluations contrast with the film's initial mixed reception, emphasizing its enduring appeal as an underappreciated entry in the comedy Western subgenre.[23] The film received no major awards during its original release or in subsequent years, though Kennedy was known for his gag-filled Western comedies such as the film.[24] Home media availability began with a VHS release in 1993 from MGM/UA Home Video, making the film accessible to home viewers for the first time.[25] Kino Lorber issued a DVD edition on September 29, 2015, followed by a limited-edition Blu-ray double feature with Support Your Local Sheriff! from Twilight Time in 2016, limited to 3,000 units and featuring isolated score tracks.[26] A standalone Kino Lorber Blu-ray arrived on September 17, 2019, mastered from a new 2K restoration of the original negative, including Schlesinger's commentary, newly transferred HD deleted scenes, and the theatrical trailer.[27] As of 2025, the film streams for free on Tubi, is available with a Prime Video subscription on Amazon Prime Video, and is also available on platforms like Pluto TV and Netflix, ensuring broad digital access.[28][29][30]

References

  1. Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) - Turner Classic Movies - TCM
  2. Support Your Local Gunfighter - Rotten Tomatoes
  3. Support Your Local Gunfighter movie review (1971) - Roger Ebert
  4. The world's most comprehensive Film database - AFI|Catalog
  5. Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) - Plot - IMDb
  6. Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) - IMDb
  7. Support Your Local Gunfighter | Cast and Crew - Rotten Tomatoes
  8. Support Your Local Gunfighter - Full Cast & Crew - TV Guide
  9. Support Your Local Gunfighter - Trailers From Hell
  10. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067809/trivia
  11. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067809/fullcredits
  12. Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) - Release info - IMDb
  13. Support Your Local Gunfighter - (Original Trailer) - TCM
  14. Vintage 1971 Support Your Local Gunfighter Movie Promo Poster ...
  15. Behind the Scenes: The Box Office Bump Part Two – Foreign Saves ...
  16. box office – The Magnificent 60s
  17. Boxoffice-July.19.1971 - YUMPU
  18. ' Gunfighter' - The New York Times
  19. https://www.pluto.tv/us/on-demand/66edb6567358ce0008328973/620bed88d810fb00078df3b2
  20. Man of the East (1972) - Trivia - IMDb
  21. Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) - Trivia - IMDb
  22. Amazon.com: Support Your Local Gunfighter [Blu-ray]
  23. James Garner: Tribute to a Marvelous Maverick - Time Magazine
  24. James Garner obituary | Television | The Guardian
  25. Writer-helmer Burt Kennedy dies - Variety
  26. Support Your Local Gunfighter (VHS, 1993) *Brand New - eBay
  27. Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray and DVD Releases
  28. Support Your Local Gunfighter Blu-ray
  29. Watch Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) - Free Movies - Tubi
  30. Watch Support Your Local Gunfighter | Prime Video - Amazon.com
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