# Movies Like “Destry Rides Again”? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 26, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-like-destry-rides-again/942962 "2021-05-26T16:44:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-like-destry-rides-again/942962/1 "2021-05-26T16:44:24Z")
Enjoyed this odd Western after seeing good reviews and seeking it out. But I’m still not sure if it is meant to be a satire of Westerns or just a good film with some comic relief. **Can anyone recommend similar movies or good, classic old films which contain substantial satire without being comedies?”** A review from IMDB describes it well: 8/10 Clean and scrappy… It is true that there are parody elements in George Marshall’s delightful “Destry Rides Again” but the real humor lies not so much in these sorts of antics, nor the heavily laid on inquiries of Marlene Dietrich as to the tastes of the backroom boys, but rather in James Stewart’s no-gun Destry characterization… This springs from the same source as Ford’s ‘characters’, recognizable frontier independent-minded eccentrics, with a firm footing in American literature; characters often with a roundabout way of making a point, or pointing a moral, as with Destry’s habit of prefacing each little cautionary parable with: ‘I knew a fellow once who…’ A habit that inevitably drew the aggrieved riposte: ‘You know too many fellows, Destry…’ The other ‘characters’ in this film have more than a color or two of parody—. Mischa Auer’s improbable Slavonic cowboy, Charles Winninger’s town drunk, Brian Donlevy, unprincipled boss, and Samuel S. Hinds’ nicely played judge…. In retrospect, it’s odd how much this movie gains from its rather touching little postscript.… Stewart, the unconventional lawman, having pacified his cowtown, strolls the streets with a hero-worshiping lad at his heels, and yet also takes a little cloud of sadness along with him…… ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-like-destry-rides-again/942962/2 "2021-05-26T18:49:11Z")
The line between satire and comedy is thin and permeable. Some of the suggestions below may cross it. _Ninotchka_ (1939) – Romantic comedy satirizing Russians. The partial remake _Comrade X_ (1940) is more cynical. _The Fountainhead_ (1949) – Certainly not intended as a satire, it nevertheless plays like one. _Sunset Blvd._ (1950) _Beat the Devil_ (1954) _His Kind of Woman_ (1955) – Vin Price’s performance is a satire/spoof on action movie heroics. _A Face in the Crowd_ (1957) _Our Man in Havana_ (1959) _Dr. Strangelove_ (1963) _The President’s Analyst_ (1967) _Wild in the Streets_ (1968) – Voting age is lowered to 14 and a teen idol becomes president. _Beyond the Valley of the Dolls_ (1970) _Network_ (1976) _The Coca-Cola Kid_ (1985) _They Live_ (1988) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-like-destry-rides-again/942962/3 "2021-05-26T19:28:21Z")
Casablanca is a comedy disguised as a serious drama. “I came to Casablanca for the waters.” “Casablanca is in the desert.” “I was misinformed.” Also, I strongly recommend Sullivan’s Travels which is in the grey area between serious and comedic. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-like-destry-rides-again/942962/4 "2021-05-27T01:55:53Z")
I’ve always felt that the direct progeny of _Destry Rides Again_ is: _Support Your Local Sheriff_ (1969)