''Law and Order'' is a 1940 American

western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

directed by Ray Taylor and starring

Johnny Mack Brown John Brown (September 1, 1904 – November 14, 1974) was an American college football player and film actor billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career. He acted and starred mainly in Western (genre), Western films. Early lif ...

Nell O'Day Nell O'Day (September 22, 1909 – January 3, 1989) was an accomplished American equestrian and B-movie actress of the 1930s and 1940s. Biography O'Day was born in Prairie Hill, Texas. Her father was an official with a railroad. Her firs ...

and James Craig.Pitts p.183 It was produced as a

second feature A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. Shooting took place at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

and the

Iverson Ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The fir ...

.The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Jack Otterson John (Jack) Edward Otterson (August 25, 1905 – December 22, 1991) was an American Art director#In film, art director. He was nominated for eight Academy Awards in the category Academy Award for Best Production Design, Best Art Direction. H ...

Plot summary

Bill Ralston arrives in town planning to settle down but quickly gets caught up in the fight between the townspeople and Poe Daggett and his gang. He takes the job of town Marshal and soon brings law and order. When Daggetts men ambush him he kills Poe's brother. Poe then kills Bill's friend Brant and this leads to the showdown.

Cast

as Bill Ralston *

Fuzzy Knight John Forrest "Fuzzy" Knight (May 9, 1901 – February 23, 1976) was an American film and television actor. He was also a singer, especially in his early career. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1928 and 1967, usually as a cowboy h ...

as Deadwood *

as Sally Dixon * James Craig as Brant *

Harry Cording Hector William "Harry" Cording (26 April 1891 – 1 September 1954) was an English-American actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in the films '' The Black Cat'' (1934) and ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938). Life and career ...

as Poe Daggett *

Earle Hodgins Earle Hodgins (October 6, 1893 – April 14, 1964) was an American actor. Career Early in his career, Hodgins was active in stock theater, including working in the Ralph Cloninger troupe of Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Siegel Stock compan ...

as Sheriff Fin Elder * Robert Fiske as Ed Deal *

Jimmie Dodd James Wesley Dodd (March 28, 1910 – November 10, 1964) was an American actor, singer and songwriter best known as the master of ceremonies for the popular 1950s Walt Disney television series ''The Mickey Mouse Club,'' as well as the write ...

as Jimmy Dixon * William Worthington as Judge Williams * Ted Adams as Walt Daggett *

Ethan Laidlaw Ethan Allen Laidlaw (November 25, 1899 – May 25, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 350 films and made more than 500 appearances on television, mainly uncredited in Westerns, between 1923 and 1962. Laidlaw was bor ...

as Kurt Daggett *George Plues as Stage Driver * Harry Humphrey as Cal Dixon *

Kermit Maynard Kermit Maynard (September 20, 1897 – January 16, 1971) was an American actor and stuntman. Early years Born in Vevay, Indiana, he was the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Maynard and a lookalike younger brother of actor Ken Maynard; they were ...

as Henchman *

Eddie Polo Eddie Polo (1 February 1875 – 14 June 1961) was an Austrian-American actor of the silent era. He was of Jewish descent.Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn B ...

as Bartender Ed *

Lew Meehan James Lew Meehan (September 7, 1890 – August 10, 1951) was an American film actor. Meehan appeared in more than 200 films between 1921 and 1947. He was often the main villain in silent Westerns, but in sound films he was usually an "anon ...

as Voting Official *

Bob Kortman Robert F. Kortman (December 24, 1887 – March 13, 1967) was an American film actor mostly associated with westerns, though he also appeared in a number of Laurel and Hardy comedies. He appeared in more than 260 films between 1914 and 1952. ...

as Henchman Pete

References

Bibliography

* Pitts, Michael R. ''Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films''. McFarland, 2012.

External links

* 1940 films American black-and-white films 1940 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Remakes of American films Films based on American novels Films based on works by W. R. Burnett Films directed by Ray Taylor Universal Pictures films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-Western-film-stub