Today’s quick review: Support Your Local Gunfighter. Latigo Smith (James Garner), a crafty grifter, escapes a bad engagement by hopping off the train at Purgatory, a Western town that is home to two rival mining operations. Latigo takes advantage of the situation by posing Jug May (Jack Elam), a destitute local, as the famous gunfighter Swifty Morgan and selling his services to Taylor Barton (Harry Morgan), the owner of one of the mines.
Support Your Local Gunfighter is a Western comedy starring James Garner. Left in a mining town for a few days, Latigo Smith tries to swindle his way into a fortune using a couple of well-picked lies. The movie is a light romp filled with colorful characters and bold gambits. Although the movie does not cover any new ground with its comedy, the combination of Garner’s performance, clever dialogue, and a chaotic plot is enough to carry the film.
Support Your Local Gunfighter is not abashed about being a comedy. There is no attempt to reform Latigo or make him too sympathetic, there is no shift to a more serious phase of the plot, and there is no pretense at realism when it comes to gunfights, explosions, or Latigo’s luck. Instead, the movie sticks to what it does best: capturing the chaos of Purgatory as its residents quarrel, gossip, and pry into Latigo’s business.
The result is an honest comedy that makes good use of its characters. Fans of the lighter side of the Western genre, or older comedies in general, will find Support Your Local Gunfighter to be a pleasant but insubstantial watch. Its comedy may skew a little overt for some viewers, while others may find it too straightforward. But its characters and its charm make it a fine pick for those interested.
For a Western comedy about a man becoming a gunfighter, try Man of the East. For a more general Western parody, try Rustlers’ Rhapsody or Blazin’ Saddles. For an animated comedy about a con artist who has to live up to his lies to save a Western town, try Rango. For a more dramatic Western about a drifter looking to turn a profit from a conflicted town, try A Fistful of Dollars.
[6.9 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067809/). I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for spirited fun.