Bruce Dern, Chubby Johnson, Dick Haynes

While hardly the first Western spoof to ride out of Hollywood, Support Your Local Sheriff is easily one of the best. James Garner plays the confident, cool-headed cowboy who strolls into a wild...( read more  read more... ) gold rush town on the way to Australia and takes the job as sheriff. Like a parody of My Darling Clementine by way of Rio Bravo, he arrests the hotheaded but hopelessly confused son (Bruce Dern) of a ruthless ranching magnate (Walter Brennan). Stuck with a half-built jail (where he keeps his prisoner penned up with pure psychology and a few spatters of red paint), a rummy sidekick (google-eyed Jack Elam in one of his first comic turns), and a disaster-prone tomboy (Joan Hackett), he takes on a succession of gunfighters with increasing exasperation. "Sure is a childish way for a grown man to make a living," he laments before chasing one gunman out of Dodge by pelting him with rocks. Directed with laconic ease by veteran Western director Burt Kennedy, it's a clever spoof of familiar conventions in a lighthearted vein, more understated and affectionate than Mel Brooks's outrageous farce Blazing Saddles. It inspired a slew of imitators, including a decade of silly Disney Westerns that sank the genre in slapstick shenanigans, and was followed in 1971 by Kennedy's pseudosequel Support Your Local Gunfighter, which reteamed Garner and Elam in a more mercenary story of con artists and gunslingers. --Sean Axmaker

Flixster Users

78% liked it

5,910 ratings

G, 92 min.

Directed by: Burt Kennedy

Release Date: March 26, 1969

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: March 20, 2001

Get It:

Stats: 236 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (236)


  • November 28, 2008
    I enjoy Support Your Local Sheriff.
    James Garner is classic as Jason McCullough. He is witty and his comic timing in this film is spot on!
    I also really enjoy Jack Elam in this, as Jake. He always plays that half loony role well.
    If only life were so simple that we could take ...( read more)a tip from Prudy Perkins and tie ourselves to something, every time we didn't want to do something!
    TCM is really pulling out all the punches today. Looks like a good day to call in sick and curl up with the remote.
  • September 18, 2007
    I saw this as a teenager but it's still a cute western.
  • August 15, 2007
    James Garner plays sheriff against a daddy and his rotten sons. It's lighthearted and fun.
  • July 14, 2007
    Hugely likeable western spoof starring James Garner in his prime, oozing easygoing charm and relaxed humour. Great fun.
  • October 8, 2006
    loved this movie. James Garner does a great job
  • September 5, 2009
    Garner's delivery is razor sharp in this spoof on the western. Morgan and Elam add just the right flavor. Awesome!
  • March 29, 2009
    I saw Lassie which was bad so I don't want to see this so no thanks.
  • March 23, 2009
    Halarious! A great western parody that should be recongized like Blazing Saddles, but in a somewhat different manner. Go see it for a good laugh!
  • December 31, 2008
    i like it. it is something you can sit back and enjoy. and a family movie too.
  • October 26, 2008
    There are very few westerns and/or spoofs I enjoy, but the cast of characters make this movie one I can watch over and over again.

Critic Reviews


No recent reviews.

Comments


This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "Support Your Local Sheriff" !

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Official Trailer

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Maverick
    Maverick (100%)
  • The Perfect Man
    The Perfect Man (100%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Support Your Loca... : Watch Free on TV


Support Your Local Sheriff Trivia


  • In Support Your Local Sheriff where does Jason always say he's going?  Answer »
  • Who played the sheriif in the movie "Support Your Local Sheriff?"  Answer »
  • What did these movies have in common? Rio Bravo Rio Lobo Eldorado Support Your Local Sheriff  Answer »

Video Clips


No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Recent News


No recent headlines. Got one?

Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?