Dirty Dingus Magee

Dirty Dingus Magee
Dirty Dingus Magee
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Burt Kennedy
Screenplay by	Tom Waldman; Frank Waldman; Joseph Heller
Based on	The Ballad of Dingus Magee; 1965 novel; by David Markson
Produced by	Burt Kennedy
Starring	Frank Sinatra; George Kennedy; Anne Jackson; Jack Elam; John Dehner
Cinematography	Harry Stradling Jr.
Edited by	William B. Gulick
Music by	Jeff Alexander
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	November 18, 1970;
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Dirty Dingus Magee is a 1970 American comedy revisionist Western film starring Frank Sinatra as the titular outlaw and George Kennedy as a sheriff out to capture him. Directed by Burt Kennedy, the movie was based on the novel The Ballad of Dingus Magee by David Markson and the screenplay was partly written by Joseph Heller.^[1]^[2]

Plot

Hoke Birdsill rides into Yerkey's Hole demanding the law take action because Dingus Magee has robbed him. Since no law exists, the mayor, Belle, who also runs the town's bordello, sees to it that Hoke himself becomes the new sheriff. Dingus keeps getting away with his crimes, helped by Anna Hot Water, his young Indian companion, but when he tries to steal from Belle, he finds Hoke has beaten him to it. Hoke enjoys being on the other side of the law, so Dingus turns the tables, becoming sheriff to go after him. After being rivals for so long, Dingus and Hoke eventually team up, running out of town with all Belle's loot after setting fire to her brothel as a distraction.

Cast

Frank Sinatra as Dingus Magee
George Kennedy as Hoke Birdsill
Anne Jackson as Belle Nops
Lois Nettleton as Prudence Frost
Jack Elam as Wesley Hardin (spoofing real-life outlaw John Wesley Hardin)
Michele Carey as Anna Hot Water
John Dehner as General George
Henry Jones as Reverend Green
Harry Carey, Jr. as Charles Stuart
Paul Fix as Chief Crazy Blanket
Terry Wilson as the unnamed Sergeant

Reception

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave a negative review: "I lean toward blaming Frank Sinatra, who in recent years has become notorious for not really caring about his movies. If a shot doesn't work, he doesn't like to try it again; he might be late getting back to Vegas. What's more, the ideal Sinatra role requires him to be in no more than a fourth of the scenes, getting him lots of loot and top billing while his supporting cast does the work."^[3]