Today, Law and Order. Entering the film business while he was still a student at UCLA, Edward L. Cahn first cut his teeth as a film editor – one of his credits was the Best Picture winning All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) – before he made his directorial debut in 1931 with The Homicide Squad. Over the next thirty years, he would establish himself as a reliable second feature director, with notable credits ranging from the Our Gang comedies at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1939 to 1943 and It! The Terror Beyond Space (1958). However, he got a very notable film to his credit almost right off the bat: the western Law and Order. Kino has licensed the movie from Universal for its home video debut.
The Production: 4/5
In Tombstone, Arizona, Frame Johnson (Walter Huston) is a U.S. marshal who is asked to take the job in town and bring some peace to this lawless corner of the Wild West. He refuses at first (hoping to leave his days as a peacekeeping marshal behind him), but when the town council asks him to help stop the corrupt influence of the town’s Sheriff Fin Elder, Frame, his brother Luther (Russell Hopton), gambler Brandt (Harry Carey) and their mutual friend Deadwood (Raymond Hatton) take the reins and the bid to clean up the town eventually leads them into conflict with the Northrup gang (Ralph Ince, Harry Woods and Richard Alexander). When Brandt is mortally wounded by the Northrup gang, it all leads to a final confrontation at the O.K. Corral.
Though much of the 1930’s were mostly a proverbial desert for the western genre between The Big Trail (1930) and Stagecoach (1939), there were some notable exceptions and Law and Order is one of those hidden gems during the decade. The first film adaptation of W.R. Burnett’s roman à clef novel Saint Johnson – which is clearly a stand-in for Wyatt Earp’s exploits in Tombstone – features solid direction by longtime B-movie director Edward L. Cahn (who was in the early years of his directing career) and a solid script by an up-and-coming screenwriter named John Huston; the film’s production was also a family affair for both Cahn and Huston: Edward’s brother Philip was the film editor and John’s father Walter was the lead (more about that in a minute). However, what makes this western atypical compared to others in the decade – especially in the Pre-Code era – is the fluid camerawork by veteran cinematographer Jackson Rose which gives this western more the appearance of a silent film with sound era sensibilities; the film is also remarkable for its character development which portrays our heroes in more complicated fashion compared to other westerns of the era. Best of all, the film is anchored by solid performances from the cast top to bottom. So, while it has been overshadowed by the more familiar 1953 version of the story – which featured future U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the lead – the 1932 version of Law and Order is still one of the more remarkable westerns of the early Sound Era of Hollywood which is deserving of a reappraisal today.
Coming relatively soon after portraying Abraham Lincoln in D.W. Griffith’s 1930 biopic of the 16th U.S. President, Walter Huston brings a stoic yet dignified presence to the part of Frame “Saint” Johnson (the stand-in for Wyatt Earp here); he would later go on to earn Academy Award nominations for his performances in Dodsworth (1936), The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) and Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) before finally winning the gold for his performance in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), under his son’s direction. One of the Silent Era’s earliest superstars – often portraying the good-hearted outlaw Cheyenne Harry in several westerns – Harry Carey is solid as the stand-in for the real-life Doc Holliday here, Ed Brandt; though he would later earn an Oscar nomination for playing the President of the Senate in Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), he’s better known today as being an early member of John Ford’s stock company of recurring actors in his films, starting from the lost film The Soul Herder (1917) to The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936). Another recurring member of the John Ford Stock Company – 10 films in total – Russell Simpson has a memorable part as the judge who persuades Frame to take the marshal’s job in Tombstone; a prolific character actor from the Silent Era – he has nearly 500 film and TV roles to his credit – Raymond Hatton has one of his more substantial Sound Era roles as Deadwood, the mutual friend of Frame, Luther and Brandt. Rounding out the cast here are Russell Hopton as Luther Johnson, Ralph Ince – the brother of Thomas Ince, considered the “Father of the Western” – as Ike Clanton stand-in Poe Northrup, Harry Woods and Richard Alexander as – respectively – Poe’s brothers Walt and Kurt, Andy Devine as outlaw Johnny Kinsman, Alphonse Ethier as Sheriff Fin Elder, D’Arcy Corrigan and Nelson McDowell as the Parker Brothers, Hank Bell as a barfly, Stanley Blystone as the leader of the lynch mob out to get Johnny Kinsman and Walter Brennan as Lanky Smith, just to name a few.
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
For this Blu-ray release, the film is presented in its original 1:33:1 aspect ratio, taken from a brand new HD master created from a 4K restoration undertaken by Universal Pictures in conjunction with The Film Foundation from two 35mm prints of the film. Film grain, fine details and gray scale all appear to be faithfully presented with only minor to minimal cases of scratches, tears and dirt present on the transfer. For a film that had by and large not seen the light of day on home video until now, this Blu-ray release likely represents the best the film will ever look on home video.
Audio: 5/5
The film’s original mono soundtrack is presented on a 2.0 dual mono DTS-HD Master Audio track for this Blu-ray release. Dialogue, sound mix and sparse music score – with title music composed by David Broekman and stock music by David Klatzkin and Sam Perry – all appear to be faithfully represented and presented with minor to minimal cases of distortion like crackling, popping and hissing present on the transfer. Again, this Blu-ray release is likely the best the film will ever sound on home video.
Special Features: 3.5/5
Commentary by mystery writer/filmmaker Max Allan Collins & Cereal at Midnight podcast host Heath Holland – Newly recorded for this release, Holland and Collins share an appreciation for the film as well as differences between not only later depictions of Wyatt Earp and the O.K. Corral shootout, but also why this film stands out compared to others in the Pre-Code era.
Without Honor (1932; 60 min.) – In this western directed by William Nigh, Harry Carey stars as a gambler who’s recruited into the Texas Rangers to track down rustlers and clear his dead brother’s name. Presented from a print preserved by the Library of Congress and with an optional commentary track by western film historian Toby Roan.
Bertrand Tavernier on Law and Order (37:24) – The filmmaker and film historian shares his thoughts on the movie and why it deserves to be better known in the western genre in this archival interview.
Bonus KLSC Trailers – Canyon Passage, High Noon, The Shepherd of the Hills & It! The Terror from Beyond Space
Overall: 4/5
While it may have fallen by the wayside over the years – largely due to its absence on home video for many years – Law and Order is still a consequential building block in the development of the western in the Sound Era. Kino has rescued this title from obscurity with a terrific HD transfer as well as providing not only an informative commentary track on the film, but also the Harry Carey western Without Honor – which has an informative commentary track as well – as special features. Very highly recommended.
Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.
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