Regular readers of this blog probably know that I’m not a big fan of humorous Western fiction, with the notable exception of work by Robert E. Howard and W.C. Tuttle. I like it better, however, when it comes to movies and have enjoyed a number of lighthearted Westerns over the years. For some reason, though, I never got around to watching THE SHERIFF OF FRACTURED JAW (1958) until now, maybe because one of the leads is Jayne Mansfield, and I’m not a fan of her work, either.
THE SHERIFF OF FRACTURED JAW makes use of the old “dude goes West” plot. In
this case, the dude is an English gun salesman named Jonathan Tibbs (Kenneth
More) who winds up in West Texas trying to expand his company’s sales
territory. The stagecoach he’s riding in is attacked by Indians, and through a
series of misunderstandings he manages to make the Indians break off their
attack and allow the stage to proceed to the town of Fractured Jaw, where Tibbs
is hailed as a hero. The town is in the middle of a range war between two rival
ranches. Both sides mistake Tibbs for a hired gun brought in to fight for the
enemy. Things get more complicated when Tibbs is appointed sheriff and also
falls in love with the beautiful saloon owner played by Mansfield. Eventually
everything works out, of course. Peace is restored, and Tibbs even puts an end
to the threat of Indian attacks in an unexpected but effective way.
This is far from a hilarious movie. I smiled a few times and I think I chuckled
once. But it is lighthearted and whimsical and thoroughly inoffensive. Kenneth
More does a good job, and Mansfield is miscast but okay. There are a few
musical numbers with her singing voice dubbed by Connie Francis. The supporting
cast includes Bruce Cabot, Robert Morley, William Campbell, and Henry Hull,
none of whom have much to do with the exception of Hull, who plays the mayor of
Fractured Jaw and does some effective scenery-chewing. This is a pretty minor
film overall, but not a bad way to pass a couple of hours. I’m glad I finally
watched it.
3 comments:
Fun trivia: William Campbell made tons of movies and TV shows, but he's probably best remembered for two guest appearances on the original "Star Trek." His younger brother was Robert Campbell, who wrote a bunch of movies for Roger Corman, including "Masque of the Red Death," as "R. Wright Campbell." As "Robert Campbell," he wrote the really good "La-La Land" novels in the late '80s and early '90s about a Los Angeles PI named Whistler.
I have those Whistler novels but have never read them. Had no idea the author was William Campbell's brother or that he wrote those Corman movies. I may have to dig them out now. Thanks for the info, Fred.
Another interesting trivia angle to this film is that it's the very first precursor of what would later be called the spaghetti western, in that it was the first European-made western shot in Spain on an international coproduction basis. The town of Fractured Jaw was built on virtually the same spot as the later western town set of Lega-Michelena, although Fractured Jaw was a temporary single street, the buildings were all facades except the hotel IIRC, and it was torn down after filming. I agree the film itself is nothing too special, but knowing these details deepened my enjoyment of it quite a bit.
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