Support Your Local Sheriff (1969)

James Garner has been a reliable leading man for some fifty years now on television and in feature films, and has never won any special accolades, other than the continuing affection of viewers everywhere.   I would be hard-pressed to name a more likeable presence or professional player with the same longevity.  Obviously, now that he is nearing eighty, he is more often seen in support, but he always holds the screen, whatever the size of his role.  Here he has one of his most satisfying leads as a opportunistic drifter in this Western spoof.  Announcing that he is only stopping by on his way to Australia, he takes on the sheriff's job in a lawless mining town and brings his own brand of sensible justice, even if this means keeping Mr. Big's (Walter Brennan's) idiot son Bruce Dern in the new jail which hasn't yet had its bars installed.  The local worthies, led by the lovely character actors Harry Morgan and Henry Jones, are yellow to the core, but with the help of Morgan's feisty, tomboyish daughter -- beautifully played by Joan Hackett -- and the assistance of his deputy, Jack Elam -- for once in a good-guy role -- Garner brings a lawful future to the community, whilst still telling folks that he is really only on his way to Australia.  Much of the cast reunited two years later for "Support Your Local Gunfighter" which is not a sequel (as they play different roles), but which is nearly as amusing as this happy romp.