csrothwec Review of The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw

The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958)

Did this count as entertainment even fifty years ago?

[5/10 · 9 November 2008]

Kenneth Moore usually had a very acute sense of his acting limitations and the type of appearance which would use the talents he undoubtedly had to the full. He was thus usually very enjoyable to watch, ('Genevieve', 'The Thirty Nine Steps'. 'A Night to Remember'), and, in one case, (in terms of films - his later TV appearances, such as in the first BBC 'Forsythe Saga' is something different), his talents coincided exactly with the demands of the film to produce a really good, memorable film, ('Reach for the Sky'). Unfortunately, his usual caution failed him entirely in this sad excuse of an 'entertainment' movie. It is lavishly produced on an epic, Cinemascopic scale, (and one presumes his fee for appearing was commensurate). It has one of the best directors in the field, (Roaul Walsh), and a stock of standard 1950s British support characters, (inevitably including Sidney James), in attendance as well. Beyond this, however, it has nothing at all going for it. The essential humorous 'core' of the film, (the incongruity of Moore's upper class Englishman amongst the crudities, (and what, even by the 1950s, were becoming stereotypical film clichés), of the 'Wild West'), wears off after about the first fifteen minutes and becomes increasingly tiresome as the film progresses. The 'plot' is wafer-thin and recourse has to be made to inserting songs, (which have not worn at all well over the decades and are all instantly forgettable), in order to 'entertain' the audience. To make matters worse, the background scenery does not even LOOK like 'the Wild West', (but, rather, a cross between the Yorkshire Dales and North Wales). Finally, (oh dear, oh dear), there is Miss Mansfield's 'performance'. Full marks for effort and determination, but whether it is through trying to comprehend what she is saying in her 'southern drawl', (which seems to change almost from scene to scene, but still remains largely impenetrable for long stretches of the film), or from listening to her warbling attempts to get through the aforementioned songs, one unfortunately just has to draw the conclusion that she simply 'did not have it' in terms of being a star to carry a film in a lead role. Her physical resemblance to Munroe is obviously a strong one, but, as this film shows all too clearly, was just not enough in itself to build a career on in films. Overall, then, a sad affair and waste of talents and resources through inappropriate usage. One for passing a couple of hours if one is really ill/down in the dumps on a wet afternoon and just wants something to 'pass the time' before tea, but is unlikely ever to want to see again.