I live on the border of the two counties with among the oldest average age in America--seriously. Here in Florida, things are beautiful and you can see why folks retire here. However, because the people are so old, sometimes it gets a bit surreal. About a year ago, I saw a minor accident--and then watched two 80+ year old men get out of their cars and have a fistfight in the roadway...seriously. Part of it was sad and I felt a bit embarrassed. Part of it was incredibly funny--especially when I called the police to report the old crazy old guys duking it out in traffic! Well, to make a long story short, this all reminds me of "Town Tamer"--a film that is embarrassing, at times, for its geriatric cast and at other times, kind of funny. This film is made up of a bizarre assortment of older actors. Dana Andrews is in the lead. Now he was a fine and highly underrated actor--but NOT a western star and not a man to 'clean up the town' when he was clearly pushing 60 (and inexplicably say he's 40 in the film). As for the supporting cast, it consists of the likes of Lon Chaney Jr., Barton MacLane, Pat O'Brien, Richard Arlen and Sonny Tufts--all of which just seemed a bit too long in the tooth for this film. Sure, there are a few 'younger' folks like Richard Jaekel (39) and DeForrest Kelley (in his mid-40s), but they seem to be the exception in "Town Tamer". In some ways, it's like a western that's set in a retirement village! The film begins with Andrews a sheriff in some western town. Almost immediately, someone tries to plug him and kills Andrews' wife instead. A couple years pass. Andrews arrives in a nasty town--a town where the law seems to be amazingly cozy with the crooks. And you know, based on the film's title, that Andrews will eventually bring law and order to this crappy town. But in the meantime, you get to see him beat up folks, get beat up and mosey about the town. It's all very standard--the sort of quickie western film with a familiar plot that you wouldn't think twice about EXCEPT for the extreme age of the actors and the occasional silliness of the production. A few of the funny scenes are the scene where Terry Moore tries to pump Andrews for information (it's badly written and funny when Andrews tries to tip his hat but misses!) as well as the fight between Andrews and Kelley--where it is VERY obvious the guy Andrews is beating up is a stuntman (though I was surprised they DID let Andrews do the strenuous scene). Overall, it's not a terrible movie but it is a funny one.
Review of Town Tamer
