Made two years after last week's film is this semi-sequel with the same star and supporting cast. It's not as good as Sheriff, but it's still good.
This time James Garner plays Bret Maverick Latigo Smith, a slick New York con man working his way across the West. Right now he's on his way to Denver to marry Goldie, who's a madam.
In Purgatory Colorado, two rival mine owners keep the town up 24 hours a day trying to reach the mother lode first. Harry Morgan plays Tyler Barton, who can't use his mine because the Colonel, the other mine owner, has hired gunmen to prevent Barton's workers from digging. Barton has found out that the Colonel has hired the notorious Swifty Morgan and he's hanging around the station to get to Swifty first.
He also has his hands full with his daughter Patience, as played by Suzanne Pleshette before she was Emily Hartley. As with Prudy last week "puberty hit her hard". Patience spends her time not wearing a dress, shooting up the town and dreaming about leaving this lousy town and going to Miss Hunter's College on the Hudson River New York for Young Ladies of Good Family, if only her dad could make enough money to send her.
Guess who Barton thinks this stranger is?
Rag rolls and a nifty robe.
Latigo also makes friends with Jack Elam, who is of course playing the town drunk, named Jug.
Latigo has to stay in Purgatory for a few days because the Doctor is trying to figure out if he can remove that tattoo. Kids, don't get tattooed while drunk and never get tattooed with someone's name, particularly someone you're not serious about or else you'll end up like Latigo.
Latigo has this funny obsession. Every so often he bets all of his money on 23. He knows that roulette is a game for suckers and idiots, but he does it anyway.
So, Latigo has to go back to work. He goes and tells a sob story to Jenny, the local madam/saloon keeper and played by the fabulous Joan Blondell.
He's very good at his job and by the next morning she's buying him a hat.
Problem is that Barton has told the local gunfighters that Swifty Morgan looks like Latigo Smith.
A meeting of the town council decides to hire Swifty away from the Colonel.
Meanwhile, Patience decides that the the only way for her father to get rich so that she can go to Miss Hunter's College on the Hudson River New York for Young Ladies of Good Family is to blow up Latigo, with the help of her father's girlfrind, who's also the sister of the Colonel.
Interesting how they put the hero in black and the villain is in very light grey.
What terrible wallpaper!
Meanwhile, the town council have caught up with Latigo and offered him a large sum of money. It appears the council was mistaken, he's not Swifty Morgan. He's only Swifty's business manager. He's Swifty Morgan.
Sure, Swifty can't draw his gun, but he doesn't have to do but look tough.
After Latigo's been payed, he finds out that the Doc's drunk and then he gets that funny feeling again.
But his relationship with Patience is going along nicely. She's even wearing clothes and has stopped trying to kill him.
Meanwhile, Barton starts work on his mine and the Colonel kidnaps him until Barton agrees to stop work. So, it's up to Latigo to talk his way out of this.
It appears that the Colonel has a bit of the Napoleon complex.
Meanwhile, it appears that Goldie and Jenny are best friends. You know what this means.
FIGHT!!
During the fight, Patience discovers the tattoo and now they can't get married and go on a picnic.
The Colonel also knows that Jug isn't Swifty and he's sent for the real Swifty Morgan and blows up Barton's shaft. Time to leave town.
Problem is that Jug wants to stay behind and fight Swifty and Latigo is too honest to leave his friend behind.
Meanwhile, Swifty has caught the express train and everyone gathers on Main Street to watch the fight.
Fortunately Latigo is smart, which is why he's on a donkey loaded with dynamite.
"Now the way this story ends..."
It's up on YouTube in ten parts and you can watch the trailer here.
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