LAW AND ORDER (1932) On Blu-ray From Kino

 

When one thinks of films made by Universal in the early 1930s, what immediately comes to mind is the studio's horror movies. Universal made plenty of other films during the period, and one of them gets a fantastic restoration and a special home video release from Kino. LAW AND ORDER is a taut, tough Western from 1932 that is basically a fictional telling of the events surrounding the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. 

Walter Huston plays legendary lawman Frame "Saint" Johnson, who has become tired of the life of a frontier peacekeeper. Johnson and his three companions--brother Luther (Russell Hopton), Brandt (Harry Carey), and Deadwood (Raymond Hatton)--wind up in the rough and tumble town of Tombstone, a place controlled by the corrupt Northrup brothers. Frame Johnson, against his better judgment, accepts the job of Marshal of Tombstone, and his hard-line stance on cleaning up the town leads to the inevitable violent climatic confrontation. 

LAW AND ORDER was based on the novel of the same name, written by W.R. Burnett. Burnett also wrote LITTLE CAESAR, and LAW AND ORDER the film feels more like a 19th Century gangster tale than a traditional Western. There's no wide open spaces, or sense of community, or an attempt to make Tombstone progressive and modern. Nearly the entire film takes place within the town--this is one of the most urban Westerns ever--and this Tombstone is a dusty, ramshackle place, as are the people that reside there. There are no female characters, and the only major family element is the relationship between Frame and his brother. 

Frame, based on Wyatt Earp, isn't exactly a paragon of virtue. His main reason for taking the job of Marshal appears to be the fact that he and the Nortrups don't like each other--Johnson doesn't seem all that concerned about the town itself or its citizens. Walter Huston makes Frame a taciturn, gruff fellow who is more intimidating than heroic. Harry Carey is a bit more engaging as Doc Holiday stand-in Brandt, but he's also the type of guy who carries around a shotgun at all times (and isn't afraid to use it). 

The director of LAW AND ORDER was Edward L. Cahn, who is best known now for the many cult genre movies he helmed in the 1950s. LAW AND ORDER is quite lively from a visual standpoint for a lower-budget feature of 1932. The camera moves all over the place, and there are a number of very complicated tracking shots with plenty of movement going on in the scene. (The cinematographer here was Jackson Rose.) The final gunfight is edited almost like an action scene of today, with as many cuts as there are pistol shots. I had never seen LAW AND ORDER before, and I was amazed at how cinematic it was. 

One of the writers credited on LAW AND ORDER was John Huston, then just starting out at Universal (and of course the son of Walter Huston). John Huston would go on to have a long relationship with the works of W.R. Burnett. This movie also has small roles for Walter Brennan and Andy Devine. 

This new restoration of LAW AND ORDER looks perfect on this Kino Blu-ray (you can easily make out the dirt and grime on the characters' clothes). Kino has packed plenty of extras on this Region A disc--they probably felt that a black & white movie from 1932 that runs only 72 minutes needed some appetizers. 

The extras include a long conversation with French director Bertrand Tavernier, who extols the virtues that he finds in LAW AND ORDER. There's also a new commentary featuring writer Max Allan Collins and podcaster Heath Holland. It's an excellent one, with the duo discussing the various films based on the life of Wyatt Earp, the work of W.R. Burnett, and the intersection of the gangster and Western genres. Collins and Holland are a pair that I'd look forward listening to on future commentaries. 

Kino has also included a bonus feature--a 1932 Western called WITHOUT HONOR, starring Harry Carey. This movie doesn't look anywhere near as impressive as LAW AND ORDER, and quite frankly, it's not very good. It does have an audio commentary of its own, by Toby Roan, that I haven't listened to yet. 

The most important thing about this LAW AND ORDER Blu-ray is that it presents a magnificent restoration to a rare film that needs more attention from Western and Pre-Code fans. I sincerely hope Kino has some more obscure Universal early 1930s goodies in store for the future.