''Law and Order'' is a 1953 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Nathan Juran Naftuli Hertz "Nathan" Juran (September 1, 1907 – October 23, 2002) was a Romanian film art director, and later film and television director. As an art director, he won the Oscar for Best Art Direction in 1942 for ''How Green Was My Valley'', ...

and starring

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Dorothy Malone Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role ...

and

Preston Foster Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 – July 14, 1970), was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist. Early life Born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

Plot

In 1882, sharp-shooting marshal Frame Johnson (

) apprehends notorious outlaw The Durango Kid and brings him back to

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew si ...

for a fair trial. The whole town, including Frame's two younger brothers, Luther ( Alex Nicol) and Jimmy (

Russell Johnson Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor. He played Professor Roy Hinkley in ''Gilligan's Island'' and Marshal Gib Scott in ''Black Saddle''. Early life Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, on ...

), heralds the two men's arrival. Although Frame and the law and order he has brought to Tombstone are widely respected, an angry mob quickly forms around the jail to lynch The Kid. Facing them alone, Frame threatens to shoot anyone who enters the jail, even after Jimmy steps to the head of the crowd. Later, Frame tells Jimmy that he is tired of giving people something they do not appreciate, and that they are leaving town. He then visits his sweetheart Jeannie (

) at her casino, and after he informs her that he has given up marshaling for a ranch in Cottonwood, she agrees to marry him. The Johnsons leave town with their friend, coroner Denver Cahoon (

Chubby Johnson Charles Randolph "Chubby" Johnson (August 13, 1903 – October 31, 1974) was an American film and television supporting character actor with a genial demeanor and warm, country-accented voice. Early years Johnson was the son of entertaine ...

), planning to send for Jeannie as soon as they are settled. When they arrive at the Cottonwood saloon the next evening, their entrance is noted by local rancher Kurt Durling (

), whose hand Frame shot off in a cattle-rustling raid. Durling, who now runs Cottonwood, vows revenge. Minutes later, Frame protects young Johnny Benton from the intimidation of Durling's son Bart. After Bart backs down, Durling slaps his son across the face for his cowardice. The next morning, Durling forces newspaper editor Martin to run a false editorial stating that Frame is a cold-blooded murderer posing as a lawman. Frame ignores it, but is drawn in when a mob gathers in the streets to lynch Johnny, who has killed Bart in self-defense. After Frame ensures that crooked sheriff Fin Elder (

Barry Kelley Edward Barry Kelley (August 19, 1908 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in '' Oklahoma!'' on Broadway. His l ...

) will take Johnny to jail in the next town, a group headed by Judge Williams asks Frame to take over as sheriff and clean up the town, but Frame refuses. He and his brothers travel to the ranch but, seeing how much work it needs, return to town. On the way back, they find Johnny's body hanging from a tree. When the Johnsons confront Elder, he lies that he tried to protect Johnny and calls Frame a coward for not trying to take over as marshal. In response, Jimmy punches Elder and Lute volunteers to be marshal. Frame congratulates Lute but leaves for the ranch with Denver and Jimmy. A few days later, Jimmy is on the outskirts of the ranch when he spots a beautiful girl and follows her home. Even after he realizes that she is Durling's daughter Maria, he declares his love for her. Meanwhile, Durling and his oldest son Frank trick Lute to keep him occupied while they rustle cattle. When Lute finally asks Frame for help, his older brother insists that he would not return to his old life. That night at the saloon, Frank and his henchman Jed shoot Lute. Frame and Jimmy rush to town, arriving just in time to hear Lute apologize for his failure before dying. Furious with both the Durlings and Frame, Jimmy drinks heavily and stalks off to kill Frank, but Denver knocks him out with a bottle to keep him from getting hurt. The next day, Frame announces that he is the new marshal and makes it illegal to carry a gun in Cottonwood. Although everyone at first refuses, Frame arrests a few men and when people see Judge Williams backing Frame legally, they comply. Back in Tombstone, Jeannie hears that Lute has died and immediately leaves for Cottonwood. There, she informs Frame that she no longer insists that he give up the law. Later that day, Denver, who has locked Jimmy in the jail, agrees to let him out, and Jimmy immediately grabs his gun. He races to Maria, but before they can flee together, Frank comes home, and trapped, Jimmy kills him. He and Maria rush to Frame's to tell him about the incident, and the marshal forcibly locks Jimmy into the jail cell, promising him a fair trial. Later that night, however, Durling sends Jed to release Jimmy from jail, and, just as he has predicted for the next morning, the townspeople assume that Frame has let his brother escape. Durling gathers a posse to chase Jimmy, but Frame demands to be the one to track his brother down. When Durling pulls out a gun he has hidden in his coat, an unarmed Frame fights back and the two struggle in the street. Suddenly, a stagecoach racing through the town square runs over Durling, after which Frame hops on a horse and takes off after Jimmy. Easily tracing Jimmy's drunken trail, Frame soon finds him in the hills. Jimmy pulls out a gun, but Frame climbs after him, urging him to turn himself in. At the top, Jimmy shoots Frame in the shoulder, but when his brother collapses, he races to Frame's side to rescue him. Judge Williams is trying to dissuade the men from going after Jimmy when both Frame and Jimmy return together. Sure that no jury will convict a man who has returned of his own will, Elder and Jed flee to California. As Maria embraces Jimmy, Frame takes off the marshal badge and promises Jeannie that now he is truly through with the law.

Cast

as Frame Johnson *

as Jeannie *

as Kurt Durling * Alex Nicol as Lute Johnson * Ruth Hampton as Maria *

as Jimmy Johnson *

as Fin Elder *

as Denver Cahoon * Jack Kelly as Jed *

Dennis Weaver William Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weave ...

as Frank Durling *

Wally Cassell Wally Cassell (born Oswaldo Silvestri Trippilini Rolando Vincenza Castellano; March 3, 1912 – April 2, 2015) was an Italian-born American character actor and businessman. Early years Wally Cassell was born as Oswaldo Silvestri Trippilin ...

as Durango Kid *

Richard Garrick Richard Garrick (December 27, 1878 – August 21, 1962) was an Irish-born American actor and director. Life and career Garrick was born Richard Thomas O'Brien in the townland of Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland. His father, James E. O'Brien ...

as Judge Williams

Production

This was the fourth time W.R. Burnett's story was adapted for a film by Universal, following the

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

, and

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

versions.

Susan Cabot Susan Cabot (born Harriet Pearl Shapiro; July 9, 1927 – December 10, 1986) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She rose to prominence for her roles in a variety of Western films, including ''Tomahawk'' (1951), ''The Duel at Sil ...

was originally meant to play Maria Durling, but backed out of the film due to dental surgery. Ruth Hampton was an entrant in a Miss Universe contest sponsored by Universal and was selected to fill that role; she would later appear in five other Universal-International films. Russell Johnson remarks that Ronald Reagan was "very political," and that "he couldn't spend a minute without being very political." He and Reagan were on the different ends of the political spectrum but nonetheless, Johnson found Reagan to be an easy man to work with during filming. This film was shot in Red Rock Canyon, California.

Home media release

Universal first released the film on VHS on January 19, 1999 under the ''Universal Western Collection'' label. On May 6, 2003, it was released to

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

under the same label and contained the original theatrical trailer as a bonus feature. A licensed

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

version was released for the first time on July 16, 2019 by

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

. This print contains 1080p high-definition video, theatrical trailer, an image gallery, and a poster gallery.

References

* ''Shooting stars: heroes and heroines of Western film'' by Archie P. McDonald. * ''Best Western Movies: Winning Pictures, Favorite Films and Hollywood "B" Entries'' by John Howard Reid.

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Law and Order 1953 films 1950s English-language films Films based on American novels Films based on works by W. R. Burnett Films directed by Nathan Juran 1953 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Films scored by Henry Mancini Remakes of American films Universal Pictures films 1950s American films