Search - Dodge City on DVD

One of The Great Early Westerns

Terence Allen | Atlanta, GA USA | 03/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dodge City is one of the Westerns that set the standard for the thousands that would come after it. Fun,funny, even playful, with a stalwart hero (Flynn, dastardly villains (Bruce Cabot and Victor Jory), noble and comical sidekicks (Alan Hale and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams), and a woman worth fighting and dying for (Olivia de Havilland).

Flynn didn't consider himself a good Western hero, but he was perfect, and Dodge City, for the time it was made, and even in today's harsh light, is near perfect. Another one of the many great films made in 1939."

LAVISH TECHNICOLOR GEM.

scotsladdie | 11/18/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In 1872, cattleman Wade Hatton (Flynn) leads a wagon train in Dodge City, Kansas a lawless mecca of gambling, liquor and murder. During the trek, he becomes infatuated with Abbie Irving (De Havilland), but she wrongly blames him for the death of her careless kid brother......DODGE CITY is a colourful and action-packed Western that put much of the Warners stock company to good use and contains the definitive barroom brawl scene. Flynn felt somewhat miscast in Westerns (and perhaps rightfully so), but this was one of the best. What the film lacks in story, it more than made up for with beautiful Technicolor, a memorable score by Max Steiner and the ultimate barroom brawl scene - plus Alan Hale and Ann Sheridan in support. Flynn and the notoriously tyrannical Hungarian director Michael Curtiz made 10 movies together; but Flynn felt that Curtiz demanded much too much of him (he also blamed him for the death of a close friend during the shooting of THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE in 1936). Flynn was in love with the lady-like DeHavilland but he was married at the time and was unwilling to court her in anything vaguely resembling a traditional manner - which made any conceivable consummation between the two a frustrating matter!"

A Colourful Western

James L. | 02/02/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The first time I saw Dodge City, it didn't make that great of an impression on me. The whole movie seemed to be full of clichés. But having seen it several times now, I've come to appreciate that this was probably the movie where most of the clichés were started. Errol Flynn stars as Wade Hatton, a trail boss, who moves into Dodge City and takes the job of sheriff. It's a tough place to be sheriff, because lawlessness is the way of life, and Bruce Cabot(the movie's villain) is calling the shots. Flynn's frequent leading lady, Olivia deHavilland, stars at the outspoken newspaperwoman that he falls in love with. Alan Hale, who provides most of the movie's laughs, is along for the ride as Flynn's sidekick. The movie has a lot going for it. I've always thought that westerns worked better in colour, and this movie is filmed in beautiful Technicolor. The movie also features the best bar-room brawl I've ever seen, and there is a lot of humour thrown in amidst the action. The performers are all good, although Ann Sheridan is given little screen time, despite her high billing as Cabot's girlfriend. With all the action, humour, and Technicolor beauty, Dodge City is a western well worth viewing."

Class "A" western entertainment!

Robert S. Clay Jr. | St. Louis, MO., USA | 10/16/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After Robin Hood and the Charge of the Light Brigade we have Errol Flynn as a western town-tamer. Don't try to understand it; just go with it. This classic western film has everything: action, romance, humor, and great color photography. Flynn and his friends drive cattle to the rail-head in Dodge City, a town that needs taming in the worst way. They run into an old enemy who controls the town. There are gunfights a'plenty, a cattle stampede, and a classic saloon-room brawl. In the middle of all this mayhem, don't miss Alan Hale's hilarious encounter with the temperance ladies of "The Pure Prairie League." Errol's best leading lady, Olivia De Havilland, adds style. This film has little of the artistic quality of John Ford westerns, but it's a lively and entertaining movie. The good guys vs. the bad guys. Kick back and enjoy it."