Support Your Local Sheriff. A wide-gauge western spoof written and directed by William Bowers and Burt Kennedy, who between them made more than their share of dead-serious horse operas. All but forgotten today, Support Your Local Sheriff was one of the sleeper hits of 1969, partly because of the irresistible charm of James Garner as the Maverick-like sort-of-anti-hero and partly because of the perfect supporting cast (Walter Brennan, Bruce Dern, Joan Hackett, Harry Morgan). And guess what? It’s as funny today as it was when I saw it in the theater as a boy (TT).
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City
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