Destry Rides Again

Starring:Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart, Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Warren Hymer, Irene Hervey, Una Merkel, Billy Gilbert, Samuel S. Hinds, Jack Carson, Tom Fadden, Virginia Brissac, Edmund MacDonald, Lillian Yarbo, Joe King, Dickie Jones, Ann E. Todd, Billy Bletcher
Director: George Marshall
Studio: Universal Studios
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Marlene Dietrich purrs through sexy songs, and Jimmy Stewart succumbs to her sultry, androgynous ways in this seminal Western with more than a touch of comedy. He plays your average nice guy who turns out to have something special up his sleeve when confronted by a gang of bad guys. He tames the banditos and wins dance-hall girl Dietrich's heart with his nonviolent ways. You may think you have seen this before, and most likely you have. Based on the 1930 novel by Max Brand, the plot has been copied repeatedly. However, this atmospheric 1939 delight stands far above its imitators. This is the movie in which Dietrich, wearing full saloon-gal regalia, sings, "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have." It was remade with Audie Murphy in 1954 as Destry, but that version lacks the charisma provided by Stewart and Dietrich. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Customer Reviews:

Destry Rides Again.......2007-06-20

Contagious western comedy features Stewart at his most appealing, and Dietrich's also in her element, singing the famous "The Boys In The Back Room". You cannot top Donlevy as a villain, and the forgotten Mischa Auer is a scream as the sheriff's brother-in-law, one Boris Callahan. Smooth direction and supremely clever script round out this winning film. Note: this picture helped inspire "Blazing Saddles".

Destry Rides Again - and again.......2007-02-23

For those who are not aware of the brilliant comedy western genre, this DVD will be a delight. The quiet, straight guy, James Stewart, the typical dance hall queen, Marlene Dietrich, and the superior comedy of Mischa Auer, combine to keep the action moving, while the 'bad guys' get found out and peace is restored to the town again.

All of this with humour and fun, which makes it rank as one of the true classic westerns of all time.

If you have never seen Stewart or Dietrich on the screen, or even if you have never heard of them, this film will give you a glimpse of the hay-day of the American Cinema, when Hollywood was turning out hit after hit in 1939.

I highly recommend it to anyone of all ages.

Clean and scrappy..........2006-11-06

It is true that there are parody elements in George Marshall's delightful "Destry Rides Again" but the real humor lies not so much in these sorts of antics, nor the heavily laid on inquiries of Marlene Dietrich as to the tastes of the backroom boys, but rather in James Stewart's no-gun Destry characterization...

This springs from the same source as Ford's 'characters', recognizable frontier independent-minded eccentrics, with a firm footing in American literature; characters often with a roundabout way of making a point, or pointing a moral, as with Destry's habit of prefacing each little cautionary parable with: 'I knew a fellow once who...' A habit that inevitably drew the aggrieved riposte: 'You know too many fellows, Destry...'

The other 'characters' in this film have more than a color or two of parody--Mischa Auer's improbable Slavonic cowboy, Charles Winninger's town drunk, Brian Donlevy, unprincipled boss, and Samuel S. Hinds' nicely played judge...

In retrospect, it's odd how much this movie gains from its rather touching little postscript... Stewart, the unconventional lawman, having pacified his cowtown, strolls the streets with a hero-worshiping lad at his heels, and yet also takes a little cloud of sadness along with him...

Marshall's film is considered a classic Western which manages to encompass suspense, comedy, romance, tenderness, vivid characterization, horseplay, songs and standard western excitements, without moving for more than a moment from a studio main street set... Hollywood expertise at its very best...

"You Sure Have A Nack Of Making A Stranger Feel Right At Home".......2006-09-18

'Destry Rides Again' is a film classic from '39 offering a strange melding of light comedy with a traditional western theme. It also features a rather unexpected collaboration of two dissimilar big name stars, James Steart (Destry) and femme fatale Marlene Dietrich (Frenchy). It certainly wasn't a combination of talent I would have come up with for the romantic leads, but it worked well enough for this film.

'Destry Rides Again' has everything you could expect from a western and more. Plenty of bad guys and gunfights, an ill-fated romance and some unanticipated comedy that will bring you back again and again. One of my favorite sequences is when Destry "schools" a group of belligerent cowboys on the finer arts of target practice with a six-shooter. Unforgetable!

Besides Stewart and Dietrich there are also strong performances by; Brian Donlevy and Mischa Auer one of the great character actors of that generation.

True western classic.......2006-07-10

I'm an unabashed Jimmy Stewart fan and I readily acknowledge Destry Rides Again as a classic which every western lover should see and will undoubtedly enjoy. However, I also like director George Marshall's Technicolor remake of this film with Audie Murphy, titled simply Destry. No, Audie Murphy was not as good an actor as 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, and possibly even improved upon. In this reviewer's opinion, he was right. Both the original and the remake are very good westerns and both should be available on DVD for western fans to enjoy.

The James Stewart Hollywood Legend Collection (Vertigo / Rear Window / Harvey / Winchester '73 / Destry Rides Again)

Average customer rating:

Stewart rides again
Great old-school stuff by a Grand Master director and a world-class actor!
Four Aces and a Joker
Captures Jimmy Stewart in top form
Amazing collection....all bonus features intact!!!

The James Stewart Hollywood Legend Collection (Vertigo / Rear Window / Harvey / Winchester '73 / Destry Rides Again)
Starring: James Stewart
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

James Stewart - The Signature Collection (The Cheyenne Social Club / Firecreek / The FBI Story / The Naked Spur / The Spirit of St. Louis / The Stratton Story)
The Hepburn & Tracy Signature Collection (Woman of the Year / Pat and Mike / Adam's Rib / The Spencer Tracy Legacy)
The Cary Grant Signature Collection (Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House / Destination Tokyo / The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer / My Favorite Wife / Night and Day)
The Far Country
The Humphrey Bogart Collection (The Big Sleep/The Maltese Falcon/Casablanca/Key Largo)

ASIN: B00023P4RY
Release Date: 2004-09-07

Customer Reviews:

Stewart rides again.......2006-06-15

James Stewart won over the masses with a drawl and slight stutter, a good guy image, and some endearingly ordinary good looks.

And he also had a long and distinguished career, with everything from suspense to westerns to... giant white rabbits. "The James Stewart Hollywood Legend Collection" brings together five of his best known movies in pristine condition, although it could have used a tad more diversity.

"Vertigo" afflicts James "Scottie" Ferguson after a traumatic event on a rooftop, forcing him to retire. But when an old classmate asks him to investigate his wife Madeleine's (Kim Novak) odd behavior, Scottie agrees. When he falls in love with the woman -- and loses her to suicide -- Scottie begins to pursue a woman who is her mirror image, as he descends into madness...

"Rear Window" is a somewhat less shocking Hitchcock movie. L.B. Jeffries has a nasty broken leg, so he's stuck in a wheelchair. He passes the time by spying on his neighbors, and contemplating his incompatibility with his pretty rich girlfriend (Grace Kelly). But L.B. spots someone acting suspiciously, and believes that the man has murdered his wife...

"Harvey" remains one of the most enchanting movies to come out of Hollywood. Elwood P. Dowd is a sweet, considerate man who has a giant white rabbit (invisible, of course) named Harvey as his companion. Unfortunately, it's driving his sister Veta (Josephine Hul) and niece Myrtle May (Victoria Horne) completely nuts. Soon a bunch of mental health professionals are after Elwood... but is he crazy, or has he just found a way to be happier than everyone else?

Apparently Stewart was searching for something a little less cuddly than his past roles, so he tried out westerns with a noir sensibility. "Winchester '73" is a gun that Lin McAdam wins in a shooting contest, and which is soon stolen by his rival, Dutch Henry Brown (McNally). Since McAdams already has a grudge against McNally, he goes on an obsessive quest to get his gun back... no matter what.

But he had done some previous western roles, like in "Destry Rides Again." It takes place in the town of Bottleneck, whose sheriff has just died in suspicious circumstances. The town bad guy (Brian Donlevy) arranges for a drunk to be the new sheriff -- but the new sheriff brings in Tom Destry, the mild-mannered son of a local hero. And Tom Destry is going to clean up the town of Bottleneck... in his own unique way.

There aren't really any flaws with this collection, in terms of the movies' quality -- all of them were brilliant in their respective ways. The only problem is that it doesn't really give a glimpse of all the roles that Stewart could do; for example, he was also great in romantic comedies like "Philadelphia Story." So where is it?

But whatever movies he was in, Stewart was outstanding as a wry photographer, a lovable "nut," an unstable detective, and two cowboys. He nailed every one of those roles, no matter how odd or creepy. He's deeply unsettling in "Vertigo" and "Winchester 73," likably crusty in "Rear Window," and completely lovable in "Harvey." You love him or hate him as his character demands.

And the movies themselves are top-notch: two are vintage Hitchcock, and one had the unique twist of taking place entirely in one room. They're all well-written and intelligent; wry humor is peppered through them, giving Stewart some of the best lines ("I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it!").

James Stewart's excellent acting is on display in the "James Stewart Hollywood Legend Collection," which shows us some of the films that made him a Hollywood legend.

Great old-school stuff by a Grand Master director and a world-class actor!.......2005-12-13

Jimmy Stewart has been my favorite actor since I was a teenager (I'm in my thirties now), and two of my top three Stewart movies are in this set (Harvey and Winchester 73), so it was a no-brainer that I buy it when Amazon had a 50 percent off sale last week!

The other three films (Vertigo, Rear Window and Destry Rides Again) are all three great, and the two Hitchcock films are clearly the best two in the set, even if they aren't among my favorites (If only Rope, my third favorite, could have been in the set).

I found it unique and quaint when I put in the first disc (Vertigo) that there was no title menu. Instead, the movie just started playing. At first, that seem so darn cheap, but then I thought of how much time I had wasted over the last few years on DVD menus. Now I wish more discs just went straight to the good stuff! Why isn't that done more?

All five movies here are quite famous, so I'll concentrate on technical matters. These versions are all fully restored enough that they are again theatre-quality, and if - like me - you first saw these movies on local TV during afternoon matinees using bad copies, then it will be like seeing them for the very first time. Vertigo in particular was a much more powerful experience than any previous copy I had seen (this is the restored version that played several years back on limited release at theatres). The b and w tones on Harvey, Winchester 73 and Destry are all crisp and beautiful. These are nice copies all around!

A nice package!

Four Aces and a Joker.......2005-07-07

I don't know, it's a great collection but I disagree with the other reviewers who claim that this is one boxed set with no clunkers. I admire Stewart's work in the movies, and four of his greatest are here, but although HARVEY does have "classic status," and Stewart clearly loved the movie, to me it's a tedious bore. I want to like it, but it just doesn't have much staying power. There must have been a whole genre of Hollywood movies back then, these light fantasies like ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, Broadway comedies with zany old folks lost in the fog belt, and younger people joining in the fog. During World War II these plays were especially in vogue. HARVEY was a big Broadway hit by the Denver playwright in 1944, featuring Frank Fay as Elwood P. Doud (what we think of as the Jimmy Stewart part, but when Stewart made Harvey he had to overcome people thinking that he had stolen away the part from the beloved Frank Fay, the man who married Barbara Stanwyck before Robert Taylor did.) People loved Frank Fay the same way we love Tom Hanks now. But the rights to film HARVEY were so tangled up that it took years to bring to the screen, and by the time it did the vogue was pretty much over for ther kind of light, bibulous trifle it represented. It's a tough picture to enjoy because all the actors (including Stewart) seem to be trying too hard. The complications of the plot may have worked onstage, but characters just keep mounting up and Elwood P. Doud seems more sinister as time goes by.

Sorry to be a naysayer, but HARVEY sticks out in this collection--it may have been one of Jimmy Stewart;s signature roles, but times have changed to the point where we like Stewart in his tortured persona (VERTIGO, BEND OF THE RIVER, ANATOMY OF A MURDER, ROPE, TWO RODE TOGETHER) than when he plays the kook.

However, the set is still a bargain and you can always use the HARVEY disk as a coaster, so I give this 5 stars.

Captures Jimmy Stewart in top form.......2004-10-11

By the time James Stewart returned from World War II he was a changed man. The horrors that he witnessed in the war almost made him give up acting because he thought it might be too trivial a profession. Luckily for us he didn't. Ironically, it deepened his art as an actor and this terrific boxed set has five of Stewart's greatest movies with four from the latter part of his career and one early classic.

Hitchcock found in Stewart the quintessential American hero. Originally, Cary Grant wanted the role in "Vertigo". Hitchcock knew he was absolutely wrong for the role and turned to the only actor that could portray both the world weariness, sense of obsession and the longing needed for the role of Scotty the police officer who develops a fear of heights after when he nearly dies in pursuit of a criminal. Scotty retires prematurely from the force but is hired by a college friend Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) to follow his wife Madeline (Kim Novak). It seems she has become obsessed with the fact that she is the reincarnation of an ancestor who went insane and died. Gavin believes that she possibly may harm herself. Scotty saves her from drowning and gradually falls in love with her when tragedy strikes him again.

Brilliantly restored, Hitchcock's "Vertigo" is one of his best films and features one of Stewart's best performances. Highly recommended.The widescreen anamorphic transfer looks dazzling with the restoration reclaiming the lost, rich colors of the film. Re-released to theaters and on DVD in the late 90's, the film still looks remarkable considering how badly it had faded.

There's an interesting commentary by associate producer Herbert Coleman, restoration producers James Katz, Robert Harris and Steven Smith the author of a book on music composer Bernard Herrmann. We get an alternate European ending that has never been seen in the US, storyboards, production drawings, advertising materials and "Obsessed with Vertigo" a great AMC documentary narrated by Roddy McDowall produced in 1999.

"Rear Window" stars Stewart as L.B. Jeffries a photography confined to a wheelchair with two broken legs due to an accident while shooting a race. His girlfriend Lisa (the wonderful and beautiful Grace Kelly)stops by to keep him company from time to time. Jeffries becomes fixated on his neighbors in the apartment building he lives in observing their lives from his back window. When he sees suspicious behavior by one of his neighbors (Raymond Burr) suggesting that he has murdered his wife and and Lisa become amateur sleuths to try and determine if, indeed, the woman was murdered and why.

Another marvelous restoration, "Rear Window" doesn't quite look as dazzling as "Vertigo" but then the film's use of color wasn't as impressive as Hitch's ultimate masterpiece. Nevertheless, the restoration adds lost luster to a classic that had disintergrated considerably while Hitch retained ownership of it. It's a remarkable movie and one of Hitch's and Stewart's best. Extras include a featurette with writer John Michael hayes, "Rear Window Ethics" which discusses the restoring of the film, production photos and a re-release trailer narrated by James Stewart. there's also a DVD-Rom which has the original script (which is great since the copy I had obtained years ago from the UCLA library is faded beyond belief).

"Winchester '73" is one of director Anthony Mann's best westerns and helped bring the genre back into vogue with its success in the 50's. Stewart plays Lin McAdam who engages in a marksmenship contest with rival he has been hunting named Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally)for a unique Winchester rifle. McAdam wins the rifle only to have it stolen by Brown. McAdam pursues Brown to reclaim the rifle, settle a quarrel and, ultimately, face him in a memorably shot show down.

The transfer looks quite good for "Winchester '73" but it's clear that the source transfer was the same laserdisc master that the audio commentary track featuring Stewart was recorded for in 1989. It looks quite good but could look much more impressive.

Finally we get Stewart with Marlene Dietrich in the early classic western (1939) "Destry Rides Again". This western classic combines comedy and drama in a unique winning package. Unfortunately, the DVD transfer here is pretty poor. The print has faded signficiantly (no chance to restore the negative either as Universal had many of their negatives dropped in the Pacific during a bonehead administration in the late 40's)but there was the possibility of restoring the print from other prints available around the world like "Vertigo" and "Rear Window" Sadly, this doesn't happen here. Still, it's a great little gem of a film. Unfortunately, there's no extras with this disc.

There's the round up of a series of classic Stewart films in this boxed set. Each is packaged individually in their own case (and can be purchased that way as well).

Amazing collection....all bonus features intact!!!.......2004-09-09

This is a wonderful collection.....normally in box sets you get a lot of fluff with a classic or two if your lucky....well this set offers up pretty much nothing but classics. Harvey is of course a legendary film and performance by Stewart and the bonus features on this DVD being the introduction by Stewart himself is wonderful. The two Westerns are interesting because Destry Rides Again is a very very early film for Mr Stewart and something of a minor classic while Winchester '73 is a major movie which many feel brought back the Western in the early 50's and also ignited a decade plus reign of Mr Stewart as a major star of Westerns as well as working with this same director Anthony Mann on many occaisions. This version of Winchester '73 ..while showing some age on the negative is pretty high quality but the BONUS audio track which runs the feature length with Mr Stewart is priceless. So ...what's left? Ony two of Alfred Hitchcocks greatet films...Vertigo and Rear Window.....the remastered versions which look great and feature wonderful bonus materials on the makings of the films and restorations of them....
I don't want to waste your time with plot lines etc...for all 5 films....but want to congratulate Universal for giving us "all killer , no filler" on this James Stewart "collection" ....a great value and a wonderful look at some of the most important work by this Hollywood Legend!

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