Support Your Local Sheriff is a 1969 Western spoof from United Artists, directed by Burt Kennedy and starring James Garner.
The discovery of a rich vein of gold causes Calendar, Colorado to become a rowdy lawless boomtown. The town council lead by Mayor Perkins (Harry Morgan) cannot hold on to a sheriff because no one is willing and/or able to deal with the chaos. Garner plays the calm and hyper-competent Jason McCullough, who strides into town and takes the job of sheriff mostly because he needs the money. With the questionable help of his scruffy deputy Jake (Jack Elam), he defeats the local robber baron (Walter Brennan) and his hoodlum son Joe (Bruce Dern), cleans up the town and gets the girl (Joan Hackett), casually subverting most standard western tropes in the process.
Two years later, more or less the same production crew and cast made Support Your Local Gunfighter, which—despite the carry-over and the title—is not a sequel. This time around, Garner is con-artist Latigo Smith, who slips off a train in the jerkwater town of Purgatory and finds himself embroiled in a no-holds-barred battle between two mining concerns to claim the local motherlode of gold. Again with the "help" of Elam's character Jug May, he finds the gold and gets the second girl (Suzanne Pleshette).
The films may or may not be classics, with the editing and continuity being particularly sloppy, but if you're any sort of fan of westerns, you really won't mind too much.
The two films provide examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: In SYLG, Latigo slips off the train in the first place to escape "Goldie", the rich and powerful woman who wants to marry him. She's not physically unattractive, it's more the principle of the thing.
- Affectionate Parody: Of The Western in general. Brennan spoofs his own character from 1946's My Darling Clementine.
- Amazing Freaking Grace: Subverted. They sing "Rock of Ages" instead.
- Artistic License – Economics: Sometimes inflation catches you right between mouthfuls.
- As You Know: Mayor Perkins and the town council get into this territory at the start of SYLS when chewing over their Danby dilemma (for likely the five thousandth time.)
- A-Team Firing: The gunfight at the end of SYLS. Well, to a degree; while people do get shot and two are even killed, the number of enemies is the same after the fight as before it, even though the bodies don't disappear from where they fell. And McCullough criticizes Prudence for killing two of the enemy.McCullough: Haven't you ever heard of wounding them?
Prudence: I only know one way to shoot. (recocks her rifle) And that's to kill! - Batman Gambit: How McCullough gets Joe to stay in a jail with no bars.
- Bavarian Fire Drill: McCullough is fairly exceptional at this. He uses Un-Paused to save his meal from a Bar Brawl and the combatants are too stunned to think otherwise. He also keeps Joe in the bar-less jail through mind-games and a splash of red paint.
- Boom Town: In the first film, caused by a gold rush.
- Boring, but Practical: How McCullough gets Joe to stay in a jail with no bars while he and Jake are out prospecting. (He handcuffs him to the stove.)
- Brick Joke: The Millard Frymore Memorial Mining Company.
- Cardboard Prison: The new jail has absolutely everything you might need, except bars.
- Character Development: At the start of the first film, Jake is something of an uncouth lout and a Cowardly Lion with poor self-esteem, who wants nothing to do with a lawman's position because of the target it would paint on his back. Over time, he starts to embrace his new job as the sheriff's deputy and does his best to help his friends beat back the Danbys, every step of the way (in a rather surly fashion, of course). By the end of the movie, Jake feels pretty pleased with himself and proud of a job well done, hoping he becomes a legendary figure in western history.
- Clean Up the Town: Explicitly made a subject of a joke in the first film:Jake: Ever been the sheriff of a town that needed cleanin' up before?
Sheriff: Nope.
Jake: Ever been the sheriff of any kind of town before?
Sheriff: Nope. But the mayor seemed to think my qualifications suited the job exactly.
Jake: He'd have thought that if'n you were blind in both eyes and crippled in both legs.
Sheriff: I think you got the situation pretty well pegged, Jake. - Clueless Deputy: Jake, though it's more a case of being unenthusiastic and uneducated than suffering an outright lack of intelligence.
- Coin-Targeting Trickshot: Parodied. McCullough demonstrates his Improbable Aiming Skills by tossing a washer into the air and shooting at it. It comes down untouched and he claims he shot the bullet through the hole in the washer. When he isn't believed, he sticks a piece of tape over the washer and repeats the trick. When he catches the washer, there is a hole in the tape.
- Combat Pragmatist: McCullough. He fully understands that gunfights are a good way to get yourself killed so where possible, he uses other methods including tripping horses with a rope, bluffing the Danbys into surrendering by tying Joe to a cannon, and throwing rocks at a would be gunslinger trying to earn a reputation.
- Comically Missing the Point: McCullough berates the local saloon for being so out of control that three people were shot and killed that day "before the sun's gone down." After he leaves the barkeep tells people the goal is to not have anyone else die before sunset.
- The Comically Serious: Both Mayor Perkins and McCullough do have a sense of humor about things, but much of the comedy of the film comes from either of them saying and doing some hilarious things without a second thought. After Mayor Perkins says Prudence takes after her departed mother McCullough asks "Her mother died, huh?" and with no beat Perkins says "Nope, she just departed."
- Curse Cut Short: Several times Jake explains that his previous job was to shovel horse s.... water the horses. He later comments that he had to deal with both ends of the horses.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: Prudence; along with stuff mentioned elsewhere on this page, at one point she manages to set her dress on fire while trying to make dinner. Her father says she hasn't gotten used to their upgraded living conditions and after puberty she wasn't accustomed to her body.
- Deadpan Snarker: Everyone takes turns with this in the first film, with the Sheriff taking first prize with this line:Mayor: The only thing the jail hasn't got is iron bars for the cells.Sheriff: [Beat] You're kidding.
- Double Entendre:
- Subverted; when the Sheriff is trying to compliment Ms. Prudy, she thinks every word coming out of his mouth is a double entendre. Of course, the whore walking out of the whore house after it got blown to hell in the end plays it straight.
- SYLG has this one when Latigo, mounted on a donkey, goes out to face Swifty Morgan:Morgan: You can't gunfight a man sitting on your ass!
- This exchange in SYLS:Tom Danby: He stuck his finger in the end of your what?! notePa Danby: Would you shut up? Everybody'd be looking!
- Embarrassing Tattoo: Latigo has one he is desperate to get rid of.
- Everyone Has Standards: Everyone on all sides thinks that shooting up the town, threatening to shoot hostages, and so on in the final gunfight is just business as usual, but McCullough accidentally blowing up the whorehouse is just beyond the pale.
- Exact Words: McCullough has Jake carry all the supplies while they're out prospecting. Noticing that Jake is having a tough time of it, he offers to "redistribute the weight" for him. He proceeds to rearrange Jake's pack a bit, leaving him just as heavily loaded as before.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: When the heroes are discussing the hired gunslinger who McCullough has just shot, Jake says that he'd never seen the guy before, but when the newcomer asked where the sheriff was, Jake saw McCullough coming out of a store and pointed him out to him, and.. heh heh... oops!
- Facial Dialogue: One of Jack Elam's specialties. This film helped shift him towards being a successful comedic character actor after many years of playing menacing thugs.
- Failed a Spot Check: It might explain why their shooting was so bad that the entire group of bad guys at the final gunfight completely miss the Sheriff and Jake hauling Joe out and restraining him to the local cannon at the end of the street when almost all of them are shooting that way.
- Faint in Shock: Joe keels over when he learns the cannon in front of which he had been previously strapped as a "bluff" was in fact loaded.
- Fastest Gun in the West: McCullough in the first film. In the second, it's an infamous gunfighter named "Swifty" Morgan (an uncredited Chuck Connors).
- Finger in a Barrel: When Old Man Danby comes to get his son out of jail, he walks into the sheriff's office and points a gun in his face. The sheriff just looks up at him and casually sticks his finger in the gun.
- The "Fun" in "Funeral": The first film opens with a funeral that is permanently disrupted when one of the mourners notices gold in the grave. Even before that, the music for the service is being supplied by a grizzled Mountain Man type playing an accordion, and the local dog-pack cheerfully romps across the coffin.
- The Gambling Addict: Latigo can't stop betting on roulette spins.
- Genre Savvy: McCullough pretty much knows that tropes related to Westerns are just ways to get a man killed.
- Guile Hero: Jason.
- Head Desk:
- In SYLS, Prudence does a version of this against a tree-branch she is occupying at the time; see below under Slapstick.
- In SYLG, Latigo very deliberately and ceremoniously thumps his head on a wall beam after once again succumbing to his roulette compulsion.
- Human Pack Mule: As noted, Jake gets loaded down with all the equipment during his and the sheriff's (very unsuccessful) gold-mining expedition. Lampshaded.Jake: I feel like a jackass.
Jason: (after "redistributing the weight") That oughta do it. Come on, Jack.
Jake: Jake! - Honor Before Reason: McCullough repeatedly says his gig as sheriff was temporary as he moves towards Australia, and when faced with a large crew from the Danby's coming in to get Joe he admits he's probably just going to leave so things don't get violent. Prudence actually praises the maturity, rather than sticking around for his own pride. This actually convinces him to stay because she wounded his pride.
- Hypocritical Humor: Prudence denounces the town council for throwing an "unarmed girl" (ie, herself) out of a public meeting... after she showed up at said meeting brandishing a shotgun, which was wrestled away from her.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Subverted, inverted, lampshaded and played straight. All in the same 30-second scene. [1]
- In the Back: After Jake helps McCullough during the confrontation with Joe in the saloon.Jake: Well.. I.. couldn't let 'im shoot you in the back..
Sheriff: Oh, you could have. - It Works Better with Bullets: Subverted, the gun actually had bullets, the Sheriff was just a real good bluffer. And the prisoner was just that much of an idiot."And he lies to me about whether or not my gun is loaded."
- Last-Second Word Swap:
- "..if someone's cra- willing to take the job.."
- Jake's previous job of "shoveling horse--... working in the stables."
- Legendary Impostor: Latigo and Jug attempt this in SYLG, leading to the real thing being summoned to the town.
- Near Misses: McCullough runs down a typical western wooden sidewalk while a dozen gunmen blast away from him from across the street. Every one of the dozens of bullets hits the wooden boards of the sidewalk just behind him.
- No Name Given: The town in SYLS; it's evidently "Calendar", but it's only mentioned once, briefly.
- Missing Mom: The heroine in both films lacks a mother.Mayor Perkins: I wanted you to meet my daughter, Sheriff. She's a good cook, a mighty fine looking girl. Takes after her dear, departed mother.
Jason McCullough: Mother died, huh?
Mayor Perkins: Nope, she just departed. - Mr. Smith: Half the town in ''SYLG"' is convinced Garner's character is using an alias because he gave his name as Smith. According to the hotel owner half her tenants are using it as a fake name. It turns out to be his real name.
- Oh, Crap!: Smith uses a lot of the same lines on Jenny and Goldie, so this is his reaction when he sees them together comparing notes.
- Pocket Protector:
- Subverted, when Jason is given a badly-dented sheriff's badge:Jason McCullough: That must have saved the life of whoever was wearin' it.
Mayor Perkins: Well, it sure would have, if it hadn't been for all them other bullets flyin' in from everywhere! - Later played straight when Danby gives his false teeth to his son for safekeeping during the climatic firefight.Danby Jr: Pa! Your teeth! They saved my life!
Danby Sr: Always worryin' about YOUR life! What am I going to chaw with from now on?!
- Subverted, when Jason is given a badly-dented sheriff's badge:
- Posthumous Character: Millard Frymore in SYLS; the film starts with his funeral.
- Privacy by Distraction: How Mayor Perkin clears out the unimportant hangers-on for the Sheriff's job-interview, sending them all out to watch the big ongoing fight in the street.
- Pun-Based Title: Both films' titles are a play on the slogan "Support Your Local Police", introduced in the 1960s by the John Birch Society.
- Quick Draw: McCullough gives Jake some lessons in this.
- Resignations Not Accepted: Averted.
- Running Gag: Pa Danby's sons throwing his own quotes back in his face. Also the pack of dogs roaming the streets of the town; by the end of the film, they're the only thing that hasn't changed.
- Sarcasm Mode:Joe Danby: But you always said there was never a jail built that could hold a Danby!
Pa Danby: Well now they built one!- Also, on the subject of the town not having a judge:Joe: Didn't need one until you came along and ruint everything!
Sheriff: Spoiled all your fun, huh, Joe?
Joe: You can say that again!
- Also, on the subject of the town not having a judge:
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- "What that fella said just now ain't exactly true. Only two of our sheriffs got killed. The third quit kinda sudden-like. Don't think he had quite the right temperament for the job."
- McCullough considers leaving town before the big gunfight, but Prudence convinces him to stay by accident saying skipping town was a mature idea.
- Self-Restraint: By the end of the first film, Joe pretty much. He even helps install the bars when they finally arrive for his cell, and expresses pride at how good a job he did.
- The Sheriff: McCullough of course; plus three others before the movie starts.
- Showdown at High Noon: Methodically subverted in both movies."Why do these jaspers always hit town at mealtime?"
- Slapstick: Prudence suffers through a session of this, ending with her in a tree, in her long underwear, with dripping-wet hair, while one of her neighbors regales the hunky new sheriff with an account of the time at the town picnic when she got said hair caught in an ice-cream maker.
- Smarter Than You Look: The town votes in favor of "...keeping the hell off the streets and out of the way until the shooting is over."
- Star-Crossed Lovers: In SYLG, a very rare example of an older would-be couple finding themselves on opposite sides of the local dispute. They get together in the end.
- Stating the Simple Solution: Everyone thinks the sheriff leaving, instead of fighting a final battle, is a good idea. But then there wouldn't be a climax.
- Strolling Through the Chaos: McCullough during the fight in the restaurant.
- Stupidity Is the Only Option: Played-with. The characters tend to be more self-aware than average.
- Take That!: The town brothel in SYLS is named after William T. Orr, a Warner Bros. executive with whom Garner had recently clashed. It coincidentally happens to be a Punny Name as well ("Madame Orr's House" [Whorehouse]). Which then feeds into a Freudian Slip by Jake:Jake: I was a whore-holder at Madame Horse's - ah, a horse-holder at Madame Orr's House.note
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: McCullough is not terribly distraught over shooting some nasty characters about to shoot him, but he isn't happy about it either because he's trying to keep the peace. He even spends time in the middle of a gunfight berating Prudence for killing people in the climactic shootout.
- Tsundere: Both female leads have at least one foot in this territory.
- Undying Loyalty: Jug in SYLG, after Latigo gives him some money so he can buy food.
- Un-Paused:
- McCullough escapes a brawl at a restaurant by yelling "Hold it!" and quietly stepping to one side, taking his food with him. Once he's out of harm's way, he says "Okay, go ahead on!" and the brawl resumes exactly where it stopped.
- He does the same trick in the middle of the final gunfight in order to get to his allies and co-ordinate strategy.
- Walking the Earth: McCullough has been "going to Australia" ...for at least 4 years. And he never gets there.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Parodied when McCullough announces he is considering just skipping town instead of facing a massive gunfight, and Prudence replies, in total sincerity, that she thinks that's an excellent and highly mature idea.
- Later, Old Man Danby gives this to Jason when the Sheriff accidentally blows up Madame Orr's House with the cannon.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Elam's character gives one directly to the audience at the end of both films, including for himself.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: The Danby's try busting Joe out of jail by tying ropes to their saddles and pull the bars out with horses, but the saddles break and riders fall to the ground. Joe says he knew it wasn't going to work, since he helped install the bars while he was sitting there. His dad is flustered by the admission.