Destry Rides Again (Blu-ray)

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.

• Interviews: Imogen Sara Smith (critic), Donald Dewey (author)