Marlene Dietrich (Blonde Venus) and James Stewart (Vertigo) ride high in this superb comedic western, both a boisterous spoof and a shining example of the genre it is having fun with.
As the brawling, rough-and-tumble saloon singer Frenchy, Dietrich shed her exotic love-goddess image and launched a triumphant career comeback, while Stewart cemented his amiable everyman persona, in his first of many westerns, with a charming turn as a gun-abhorring deputy sheriff who uses his wits to bring law and order to the frontier town of Bottleneck.
A sparkling script, a supporting cast of virtuoso character actors, and rollicking musical numbers — delivered with unmatched bravado by the magnetic Dietrich — come together to create an irresistible, oft-imitated marvel of studio-era craftsmanship.
Extras
New 4K digital restoration by Universal Pictures in collaboration with The Film Foundation, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
New interview with critic Imogen Sara Smith
New interview with Donald Dewey, author of James Stewart: A Biography
Illustrated audio excerpts from a 1973 oral-history interview with director George Marshall, conducted by the American Film Institute
Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1945, featuring actors James Stewart and Joan Blondell
