The rip-roaring conclusion to Dodge City (1939), is marvelously dumb. The bad guys, led by really nasty villain Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot) have jumped out of the burning railroad car and onto their horses. They are going to make a getaway, we assume. But for some reason, the six schmegeggees don't ride away from the railroad tracks. Instead, they continue exactly parallel to the tracks, allowing Wade Hatton (Errol Flynn) to get out his rifle and pick them off, one after another.
All that the black hats needed to do was to hang a right and ride off into the brush, or just rein up, and let the train go by. The train is on a railroad track. But no. Not these guys. They keep on riding alongside the train until they're all shot. End of movie, but not the end to my astonishment. I'm baffled that the director, Michael Curtiz of all people, allowed such a brainless ending.
Also: Errol Flynn, with his anachronistic 1930s mustache and condescending smile, was so goody-goody and upstanding that I felt a strong urge to piss on his leg.
How about a post dealing exclusively with stupid movie endings? The ending to "The Bad Seed" comes to mind: a lightning bolt from god, of course, takes care of that murderous little brat played by Patty McCormick. (The last I heard of Patty, she was a student performer at Brooklyn College.) Why did god wait until Patty had become a serial killer before dispatching her?
Posted by: Don Z. Block | May 07, 2022 at 05:31 AM