Is "The Cheyenne Social Club" a comedy or action Western? Director Gene Kelly tries to combine the two with very uneven results. Cowboy James Stewart receives a letter telling him that he has inherited property from his late brother so he starts out for Cheyenne along with his buddy, Henry Fonda. It is only after he arrives that Stewart finds out the Cheyenne Social Club is not a boarding house or saloon as he supposed, but, well, something else. Director Kelly plays up the discomfort Stewart feels being the not so proud owner and his futile efforts to close the place down, but most of the jokes in that vein fall flat. That is not to say we can't find humor as, for example, Stewart changing his politics when he fancies himself as a businessman, or Fonda cracking nuts at inopportune moments. Fonda's speeches as the credits are rolling are hilarious. Stewart listens politely until he can't take any more and finally has to tell Fonda to shut up. The movie is at its best when these two old pros are interacting with one another.
Review of The Cheyenne Social Club
