Dodge City Film Analysis

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Frank S. Nugent's review of Dodge City written for The New York Times was published on April 8,1939. Although Nugent doesn't declare that Dodge City is a complete failure, Nugent's review points out some major flaws in the writing of the movie's plot. A major gripe for Nugent was the seemingly pointless action for the sake of action. The movie seemed to be just a couple of fights, murders, and other dull events put together that do not create a substantial outcome. Nugent also thought that the character Wade Hatton, the new sheriff of Dodge City, was practically untouchable and unbeatable by Jeff Surrett or any of his men. His invulnerability made the movie's outcome extremely predictable and as a result, there was no suspense being developed during the movie. The movies coloring also was a problem because the colors were great for some scenes, but washed out for others. His complaints about the movie culminated in his conclusion that the movie was only appealing to kids or only adults who simply wanted to watch a movie for entertainment. Roly Young wrote a review for Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, which was published on April 22, 1939. Youngs' review of Dodge City is an extremely positive one. Young believes that a western should not be judged by what it contributes …show more content…
Frank Nugent and Dennis Schwartz have similar views about how the movie is flawed. Roly Young's review ignores the fact that the movie may be flawed and instead states that a western should be judged solely on how entertaining it is. Frank Nugent's review bashes the development of the plot for being too full of meaningless action and fights. Dennis Schwartz's review also asserts that the plot is filled clichés and a surplus of fight scenes that do not appeal to everyone. Nugent's review also states how the plot was too predictable because Hatton had no opposing force that could actually defeat