It’s abundantly clear that the consumer dollar isn’t going far these days. What exactly can a dollar even get you in 2024?
On one blistering hot day this summer I found out what one U.S. dollar can get in terms of movie memorabilia at an outdoor flea market: an extremely poor condition 1934 re-release pressbook for Columbia Picture’s The Fighting Sheriff starring Buck Jones. In the moment price didn’t matter, I wasn’t even aware yet that the booklet cost less than a Snickers bar. I was drawn to this artifact—the yellowed paper, the bold typeface, the touch-up artist’s rendering of the smoke rising from the cigarette, and, most of all, Buck Jones’ dead-serious stare. A tear on the cover looked like a scar across his face, lending a menacing cool to the cowboy. Somebody had indifferently scrawled the number ‘12’ on Buck’s hand like a tattoo. I had to give this pressbook a good home.
I picked up a few other pieces of paper ephemera from this dealer—including a couple 1935 film industry magazines and the Dayton Public Library’s 1984 16mm catalog (a copy of this belongs in every home)—but it was the fragile $1 Buck Jones pressbook that excited me.
Exploring the marketing material within the pressbook, I was especially drawn to the simpler line and halftone art, like this sketch used as filler underneath the Three Sheet:
I love the way this ad mat underscores the dynamic action with an off-kilter frame:
I can stare at this halftone art like it’s a pointillist painting:
Now having the pressbook in my possession, I needed to see the movie. Sadly, Western fans are still waiting for some studio to release Buck Jones: The Complete Columbia Feature Films 36-disc Blu-ray boxset. Until that time, we’re left scrounging through 16mm dupes, budget DVD boxsets, DVD-Rs, torrents, and YouTube uploads. The video situation with The Fighting Sheriff was dire: the only option seemed to be a $14.99 DVD-R, and I’m not about to spend $14.99 on some shoddy bootleg of an hour-long Western. So, I ventured forth, finally locating the movie for free on a Russian video site. Повеселимся!
I like to get these synopses over quickly. The film begins with Sheriff Bob Terry picking off one of two bandits he’s pursuing. All signs point to the bandits working for Flash Halloway, who slicks his hair and has a mustache—we all know the type. Bob’s first goal is to untangle this criminal network. Complicating matters is that bandit that Bob killed has a pretty sister, Mary Cameron. Mary doesn’t know who killed her brother. This makes Bob’s second goal—wooing Mary—a little tricky. Flash is also trying to win over Mary. These are standard Western quandaries.
Robert Ellis, who plays Flash, began his career with the Kalem Company where he graduated from merely acting to acting and directing. He eventually moved out West and found steady employment as a supporting and bit actor. Ellis ultimately became a screenwriter, his first talkie being 1932’s The Monster Walks. His métier as a scribe was B-pictures, including a few Charlie Chan entries and a few Jones Family screenplays for 20th Century Fox. The Fighting Sheriff was one of six Buck Jones films in which Ellis appeared, and he’s perfectly dastardly here.
Loretta Sayers is everything you could want in a Western love interest, a cute damsel that gets in a rather distressful situation. Lillian Worth and Nina Quartero steal the show as the town’s liquored-up hussies, Florabell and Tiana. Quartero—who was born in New York City—bravely attempts a Mexican accent which ends up sounding at times Russian and Australian. It’s quite fascinating.
Clarence Muse gets the film’s last laugh, but, according to the pressbook, he was also supposed to get a song. This may have been in the theatrical cut, but it’s eliminated from the TV print I watched.
Of course, Buck Jones is the hero and, as such, commands the screen. He’s the fighter. He’s the sensitive Sheriff who rests the dying bandit’s head upon his hat. He’s the shy guy who presents a box of conversation hearts to his crush, only to be upstaged by Flash and his box of decadent imported chocolates. He’s the ultimate hero and, if you’re not already, this movie could make you a Buck Jones fan.
Just to think, I wouldn’t have sought this one out if it hadn’t been for that fortuitous flea market purchase. Not bad for a Buck.
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