zardoz-13 "Sagebrush Troubadour" director Joseph Kane's B-movie musical western "Sheriff of Tombstone" has nothing to do with Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and the Clanton gang. Roy is a former Deputy Marshall from Dodge City who turns in his badge after things simmer down and the town settles into peaceful tranquility. Not only does Brett Starr (Roy Rogers) leave the famous Kansas town, but also an unsavory as well as unshaven hombre named Cassidy (Harry Woods of "Monkey Business") plans to pull up stakes, too. Cassidy is widely known for his use of a double-barrel shotgun. A lot of animosity exists between these two characters. "King of the Cowboys" scenarist Olive Cooper wrote this Roy Rogers saga based on "Pride of the Navy" scribe James Webb's original story. Cooper conjures up some good dialogue. Essentially, this oater concerns corrupt officials who rule Tombstone and are doing their best to ruin a harmless old lady, Granny Carson (Zeffie Tilbury of "Camille"), who has struck it rich with a mining claim. Unfortunately, Granny cannot ship bullion to pay her taxes because evil Mayor Luke Keeler (Addison Richards of "Flying Tigers") and saloon owner A.J. Slade (Hal Taliaferro of "Ramrod"), have joined forces to compel Granny into relinquishing her claim because she cannot pay those taxes. They plan to buy her property out. Granny, however, is not inclined to accommodate as readily as Keeler and Slade want. Meantime, Keeler and Slade have another conspirator, Wells Fargo Agent John Anderson (Jay Novello of "The Wonderful Country"), who masquerades as a Mexican bandit named Joe Martinez. Brett Starr arrives in Tombstone and thwarts some men who plunder a clothing store run by Granny's daughter Mary (Elyse Knox of "The Mummy's Tomb"), and Brett takes a fancy to her. He forces the men not only to pay for the dresses they have taken but also to wear them. When Keeler and Slade hear about this encounter, they leap to the conclusion that Brett is actually Cassidy. After Brett left town, he joined up with his relatives to ride to Tombstone, and his friend Judge Gabby Whittaker (George 'Gabby' Hayes of "Blue Steel") rides along with them. During the journey, our heroes have another encounter with the slippery Cassidy. At one point, Gabby plays poker with Cassidy and loots his winnings. The notorious Cassidy tries to bushwhack Gabby in the barn, but the resourceful Gabby surprises him, whirls around in time, and wounds Cassidy. Eventually, when they reach Tombstone, Gabby runs into his own relatives. After the mayor decides to hire Brett as town marshal because he believes erroneously that Brett is Cassidy, Brett learns about Granny's predicament. When Brett tries to ride shotgun on a stagecoach with bullion, he smells an ambush and has the driver reverse the stage and return to Tombstone. During the fray, Brett catches a bullet so that he must have his hand bandaged, but so to does Martinez. "Sheriff of Tombstone" is one of those rare sagebrushers where Roy is wounded. The musical numbers don't slow down the action and each is relatively minor. As usual, Harry Woods makes an excellent villain. "Sheriff of Tombstone" is an adequate shoot'em up with good dialogue and interesting characters, particularly Jay Novello in a dual role.

bkoganbing In Sheriff Of Tombstone Roy Rogers plays a Wyatt Earp like character who has quit being the marshal of Dodge City and is going west to Tombstone to be with his brothers and settle down in business. Problem is that Tombstone is a town in bad need of taming. The outlaws as headed by Addison Richards see it that way also and they've sent for a notorious outlaw played by perennial western villain Harry Woods to see it's tamed their way.But Woods meets with a funny accident on the way, courtesy of Gabby Hayes no less who beats him to the draw. This may have been Gabby's finest hour as a western sidekick. Roy arrives ahead of Woods and Richards and his henchmen think Roy is Woods.Of course that doesn't last long, but Rogers is resourceful and you know the bad guys will be brought in line before the end of the final reel.Given the constraints of Republic Pictures budget for a B film, this one is not bad for its type. Elyse Knox who became wife of Tom Harmon and mother of Mark Harmon is the leading lady, she's the granddaughter of the head of a clan of mine owners who Richards and his friends are trying to squeeze out of business. Sally Payne is also around in a role as a spunky saloon girl who does a little espionage for Roy on the side. She gets almost as many musical numbers as Roy in this film.Definitely one for Roy and his devoted legion of fans.

Michael Morrison In so many of his movies, Roy Rogers played a character named Roy Rogers. In "Sheriff of Tombstone," though, he is Brett Starr, a refreshing change and another opportunity for Roy Rogers to show he had more than one dimension.Though fans usually didn't need anything other than Roy, "Sheriff of Tombstone" also had unusually good dialogue and a good story, by James Webb (not the current U.S. Senator, although he too is a good writer), with a good screenplay by Olive Cooper.There is a remarkably good cast, with everyone's favorite sidekick, George "Gabby" Hayes, who was actually a fine actor, capable of many types of character.Harry Woods gets one of his biggest roles, and shows some dimensions too, giving one of his best performances.Jay Novello, almost completely unknown today except to us western fans, also shows a surprising ability at characterization. You really have to see this performance to believe it.Adorable Sally Payne plays a character who is both an eccentric personality and a charming singer, a great role for her and a great chance for us to see her ability.Songs, for her and for Roy, come from the great Bob Nolan as well as Sol Meyer and Peter Tinturin, neither of whom I am familiar with, no doubt my loss.Music in Roy Rogers movies is usually rather pedestrian, but the songs here are memorable.The great Joe Kane is both director and associate producer, and his touch helps make this a superb B western.Republic might not have spent a lot of money, but there is a lot of talent and effort in this excellent movie.

Steve Haynie By 1941 the formula for low budget series westerns had long been perfected, but results varied. Sheriff of Tombstone is an excellent choice for an introduction to the genre of B westerns.The best actor of the bunch, as usual, was George "Gabby" Hayes. His character may have had the same name from one movie to the next, but not the same purpose in the story. He could be a wise old cow puncher, an old ranch foreman, aloof sidekick, or even an outlaw. For a pleasant change he was made into a lawyer, "Judge Whitaker" for this picture. Add to that a wife and daughter, which is unusual for not only Gabby, but sidekicks in general. Not bumbling around as a helpless sidekick in this one, he was instead a strong backup gun for Roy's character, Brett Starr.A fine touch on a well made movie comes during an interchange between Gabby and Granny Carson when she answers Gabby with a snappy, "You're dern tootin'!" The reaction on Gabby's face is one of surprise at being the recipient of one of his own signature lines.