Johnny Reno (1966)

The mistake I made was being born.

Johnny Reno is directed by R.G. Springsteen and written by Steve Fisher and Andrew Craddock. It stars Dana Andrews, Jane Russell, Lyle Bettger, Lon Chaney Jr., John Agar and Tom Drake. A Technicolor/Techniscope production, with music by Jimmie Haskell (title tune song by Jerry Wallace) and cinematography by Harold Stine.

Andrews is Johnny Reno, a tough no nonsense U.S. Marshal who after arresting suspected Indian killer Joe Conners (Drake), takes him to the jail in Stone Junction in Kansas. But once there Johnny finds a hostile and corrupt town that want Conners lynched before trial. Why? Does this town have a secret? Is Conners really as innocent as he proclaims? Reno must stand alone against the town to find the truth.

Safe Western film making 101, Johnny Reno has just enough about it to keep it from stinker status. There's a fine cast involved, but they are either winding down their long careers or merely going through the motions. The direction is standard fare, with the action sequences constructed only adequately, and the musical score is at times more befitting a comedy serial episode.

Yet the premise, as simple as it is, plays out well for dramatic purpose. Reno is a two fisted hard bastard type of guy, and it's fun to watch him tackle the whole of Stone Junction, including, naturally, affairs of the heart by way of Russell's Nona Williams. The narrative has some observations on corruption, racism and vigilantism that are to be applauded, while the Techniscope photography around Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is most easy on the eye.

It is what it is, a Western in the late 60s trying to keep with the formula traditions of the "B" grade Oaters from the previous decade. It succeeds on that front for sure, where even though it has plenty of faults, it's a decent enough time waster for fans of the stars or those who like the said undemanding Westerns of the 50s. 6/10

_**Decent ‘second feature’ mid-60’s Western with Dana Andrews and Jane Russell**_

A Federal marshal (Dana Andrews) rides into Stone Junction with a prisoner (Tom Drake) whom the mayor wants lynched (Lyle Bettger), but he discerns that the mayor’s minions are too gung ho and his captive may be innocent. Jane Russell plays his romantic interest while Lon Chaney Jr. is on hand as the sheriff.

“Johnny Reno” (1966) is an A. C. Lyles Western, who produced over a dozen ‘B’ Westerns in the mid-60s, which all featured past-their-prime actors and shot in 10-14 days. The teams Lyles gathered always knew what they were doing and did it competently and efficiently, albeit with little artistic merit and just a notch above a TV movie. His Westerns worked well enough if you’re in the mood for traditional town-bound Western with maybe a couple scenes shot in the nearby wilderness of Southern Cal.

Speaking of locations, while the events take place in Kansas, the sites clearly look like the Southwest. If you can ignore this glaring issue, the story is relatively absorbing and moves right along. Someone complained about the marshal’s hat, but I didn’t see the problem. It’s not like James Caan’s amusing hat in the contemporaneous “El Dorado.” Men wore different hats in the Old West according to personal taste and Dana’s marshal looks fine.

Jane of course stands out on the feminine front, 25 years after her debut in the infamous “The Outlaw” (which was shot at the end of 1940 and beginning of 1941). She was 44 during shooting, but still in fine shape. Meanwhile brunette Tracy Olsen as the mayor’s winsome daughter is worth a mention.

The movie runs 1 hour, 23 minutes, and was shot at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, and Vasquez Rocks, which is located in the high country just north of the city, east of Santa Clarita.

GRADE: B-/C+

Despite the presence of an half decent supporting cast, Dana Andrews doesn't really do much with this disappointingly formulaic western. He is the eponymous federal marshal who has apprehended 'Conners' (Tom Drake) after coming under fire en route to visit 'Nona' (Jane Russell). With his charge safely locked up and protesting his innocence, 'Reno' realises that the townsfolk are scenting blood, and that they don't really care for judicial process - they just want to hang the man. Increasingly egged on by 'Yates' (Lyle Bettger), the townspeople are becoming both restless and hostile - but is everything as black and white as it seems? Why the haste to string up 'Conners' - who is also wanted for killing the son of the local Chief 'Little Bear'? What else is afoot? All the ingredients are here for some standard Saturday afternoon drive-in fayre, but the whole thing just lacks for personality. There's precious little chemistry between Russell and just about anyone, Andrews is really only going through the motions and the whole thing just missed the traditional Jack Elam or Walter Brennan type of character to lighten the mood as this rather too earnestly plods along. To be fair, the denouement wasn't quite what I was expecting but only in execution rather than substance, and this felt like quite a long old eighty minutes to me with too much chat and nowhere near enough action.