When the Sheriff of Restful asks one too many questions about the legitimacy of Decker's card games, he winds up dead and the new sheriff is the town drunk. The corrupt forces behind Restful think that things will be just how they like it from now on but don't figure that the drunk will call in help in the form of a deputy, Tom Destry son of the famous lawman. However Destry Jr turns out to not only be against carrying guns but also be soft-spoken and good-humoured not characteristics that Rags hoped for in his deputy. However with a culture of silence, gun crime widespread and the town in the grip of the sultry and dangerous Brandy, can Destry make an impact?
Just to prove that modern Hollywood does not have the sole rights to the concept of the totally unnecessary remake, we have this film made 15 years after the definitive version starring Stewart and Dietrich; and true to form, this version is just that unnecessary. The plot is pretty much a carbon copy and indeed a lot of the scenes are almost copies of the 1939 version and the only thing this achieves is to highlight that it has all been done before and better. Although it is a copy, it isn't as free-wheeling, fun or energetic as the previous film and it does show.
The main reason for this is the cast as this bunch show how important the cast were in 1939. Murphy bravely plays against type but he just isn't as well suited to the role as Stewart was he plays naïve well enough but it isn't that funny or fun. Blanchard does the best she can and in fairness she does pretty well filling Dietrich's boots. Mitchell is always fun and does well enough but the rest of the support cast aren't really there. The musical numbers are quite fun but again feel like it is aping other numbers rather than going out on its own territory.
Overall nothing in this film is bad, in fact it is quite enjoyable across the board. However when you watch the 1939 film you have to wonder why they bothered to go back and remake it at all since all it manages to do is highlight how the "original" was better in the first place and that only knocks the fun out of it that bit more.
