“I do hope he doesn’t kill us. He’d never get over it.” —Sandra
Today’s quick review: Dakota. Gambler John Devlin (John Wayne) elopes with Sandra Poli (Vera Ralston), the daughter of a railroad tycoon (Hugo Haas), and makes for the Dakota Territory. There the newlyweds hope to invest $20,000 in land that the railroad is about to buy up. But they run into trouble when Jim Bender (Ward Bond), a local businessman, has the same idea, hiring Collins (Mike Mazurki) and his thugs to take the land at a discounted price.
Dakota is a Western with comedy elements starring John Wayne. The story follows the scramble to snatch up stretches of Dakota farmland that are about to be worth a fortune. Dakota tries to offer a little bit of everything, with a classic crime-oriented Western plot, a dash of romance with its heroic couple, and some prominent moment of comedy. However, the various elements work against each other, resulting in a mediocre watch with missed potential.
The two main shortcomings of Dakota are its comedy and its use of its star. As far as humor goes, Dakota consistently swings wide. Its jokes try too hard to be funny, with long setups, obvious punchlines, and haphazard placement within the script. Comic relief characters like Captain Bounce (Walter Brennan), a bumbling riverboat captain, get altogether too much screentime, and their main effect is to undermine the movie’s handful of dramatic moments.
Meanwhile, Dakota does not know what to do with John Wayne. John Devlin is an easygoing but determined man, a gambler with a heroic streak and a loving heart. The problem is that his character is passive. In the early part of the plot, he does very little to stop Collins from stealing his $20,000 in investment money, and this ends up being a precedent. Even at his most competent, John Devlin is a far cry from the tough characters Wayne is known for.
Dakota is a movie whose various parts end up working against each other. Its comedy is bluntly handled, its lighter tone contradicts the dramatic side of its plot, and its hero is too forgiving to be worth rooting for. The movie holds modest value for those in the mood for an old-fashioned Western, and its setup has potential. But ultimately Dakota is outclassed by countless other movies that manage to be funnier, more charming, or more exciting.
For a somewhat more charming John Wayne comedy involving dirty land dealings, try The Fighting Kentuckian. For a Western comedy that has more fun with its premise, try Support Your Local Sheriff! or Support Your Local Gunfighter.
[6.1 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037627/). I give it a 6.0 for muddled execution of a decent premise.