Law and Order (1953)

Hey, wasn't that a great way to open the film - Ronald Reagan rides into view wearing that tin star, championing law and order and democracy. One of history's great ironic tributes to life imitating art.Ultimately though, the film is largely a run of the mill Western, a notch above the 'B' programmers churned out incessantly from the 1940's and '50's. This one was done in color, so it gets some points for that, and it was admirable to see that the nominal comic relief character (Chubby Johnson as Denver) had guts enough to stand with Frame Johnson (Reagan) and his brothers when things got rough. By the time Jimmy (Russell Johnson) duped Denver to open the cell door, it seemed almost out of character for him to get taken like that.You know, I got curious watching Reagan get on and off his horse. Twice when he dismounted, he did it by swinging his right leg over the saddle and sliding to the ground. The only time he mounted was from a raised deck where he was relatively level with the saddle. I'm wondering if Reagan might have been physically impaired during filming to allow for more mobility.The other point has to do with brother Jimmy. Right after Lute (Alex Nicol) dies, it only takes about a minute for Jimmy to get staggering drunk at the bar downstairs. However when he's on the run from Cottonwood after being sprung from jail, he manages to down a whole bottle of tequila with no ill effects!Some time during the '50's, and maybe earlier, it seemed to become the custom to show the best assets of a film's leading lady in profile. This is done extensively here with Dorothy Malone as Reagan's romantic interest, and to a lesser extent with Ruth Hampton's character. Somehow I don't think the ladies of the 1880's really looked like that, but who knows. At the same time though, Jeannie (Malone) had one of the picture's most memorable lines describing her man - "You're big and you're ugly and you're stupid, and I happen to be in love with you".

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.

Law and Order is the story of Frame Johnson (Ronald Reagan) a town tamer who wants to retire. He has two brothers played by Alex Nicol and Russel Johnson who help him and a fiancee Dorothy Malone. Sounds familiar? Yes, it is Wyatt Earp all over again, but in the story of Wyatt there was the gunfight at the O.K. corral, which involved strategy, and also a lot of conflicting feelings from different factions.Here it is basically Reagan fighting a bandit called Durango Kid at the beginning,and then moving to another town where the bad guy is Preston Foster. There is a lot of action but a lack of anything else. Reagan, who was a good actor, and the excellent Dorothy Malone don't have much of a chance to show their feelings. Alex Nicol, with the collar of his jacket lifted, looks more like a model for a fashion magazine. But if your looking just for plain entertainment, this film is ok.

Merely serviceable B western with no special moments or performances. Reagan plays a hired gun trying to settle down to a life as a rancher who must take up the marshall's badge to clean up his new town after one of his brothers is killed. Malone is the woman he falls for. Strictly an attempt to replicate Randolph Scott's success in similar vehicles, but with so-so results.