Law and Order (1953)

Director:

Nathan Juran

Writers:

W.R. Burnett (novel)
Inez Cocke (adaptation)

Release Date:

May 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Action | Romance

Tagline:

From Dodge City to Tombstone...His Guns Were The Only Law!

Plot:

Frame Johnson already cleaned up Tombstone and hopes to settle down near Cottonwood. But a marshal's work is never done...

Plot Keywords:

Roulette | Blackjack | Chandelier | Brother Brother Relationship | Lynch Mob

Cast

Ronald Reagan	...	Frame Johnson
Dorothy Malone	...	Jeannie
Preston Foster	...	Kurt Durling
Alex Nicol	...	Luther 'Lute' Johnson
Ruth Hampton	...	Maria Durling
Russell Johnson	...	Jimmy Johnson
Barry Kelley	...	Sheriff Fin Elder
Chubby Johnson	...	Denver Cahoon
Jack Kelly	...	Jed
Dennis Weaver	...	Frank Durling
Wally Cassell	...	Durango Kid
Richard Garrick	...	Judge Williams

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16240) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Quotes:

[The town undertaker, Denver Cahoon, is trying to drum up business]
Denver Cahoon: Where's the Durango Kid?
Frame Johnson: That's him.
Denver Cahoon: You mean to say you brought him back alive?
Frame Johnson: Well, for the time being.
Denver Cahoon: Now, we've been friends for a long time, Frame. But since you cleaned up this town, I can't hardly make a living. How do you expect me to make any money off of him?
Durango Kid: Don't worry about it friend, you won't have to wait long.

Movie Connections:

Version of Law and Order (1940)

Solid action western with good performances.

Too many critics sneer at Ronald Reagan's career in films. THey obviously didn't see this film. Law and Order is a solid western made in the era when westerns were made well. The script is tight, with plenty of action, but not weighted down with too much gratuitous violence that marks most of Eastwood's films. Reagan's performance as Frame Johnson is natural and believable. His skill in the saddle is displayed several times. He comes across tough and determined, yet has scruples. THe supporting cast boasts such veterans as Russell Johnson (who appears in many sci-fi films of the fifties) and Preston Foster and Dorothy Malone. Nathan Juran directed many films and television programs and was good at maximizing the low budget that Universal gave him for this effort. Another good western starring Reagan is Last Outpost (1951). Law and Order is definitely worth seeing - If Reagan had made more films of this caliber, he might not have gone into politics.