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Law and Order

Play trailer Poster for Law and Order 1953 1h 20m Western Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 52% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Wild West lawman Frame Johnson (Ronald Reagan) arrests a notorious outlaw, but, after the locals threaten to break into the prison and hang the crook without a trial, Frame gets fed up with injustice. He decides to put his days of gunslinging behind him in favor of a simple domestic life with his lover, Jeannie (Dorothy Malone). The couple move to the supposedly idyllic Cottonwood -- only to find that their new home has been overrun by a rogue rancher who has unfinished business with Frame.
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Law and Order

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 01/18/2004
D
Ronald Reagan doesn't make it as an actor. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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G L @RT09869090 Aug 24 Not to be confused w/ the great TV show, Ronald Reagan (yes, that Ronald Reagan) retires as an US Marshal to marry Dorothy Malone (who wouldn't marry her?) only to unretire & put the badge back on when his brother is killed. See more 09/16/2023 One of the better, Ronald Reagan movies that I’ve seen very good highly recommended James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas, September 16, 2023 See more James F @RT61992943 08/16/2022 SPOILER ALERT! I was intrigued to see Ronald Reagan act in a western so I went into this with a good bit of optimism. As others on here have said, it was rather silly and wooden most of the time. Not just Reagan but everyone acted like they were in a melodramatic play yet lacking any fervor whatsoever. And the finale was complete nonsense. The bad guys sorta just decided within one minute near the end to announce they were fleeing to California for literally no reason at all. I was a bit dumbfounded. I guess they really phoned this one in. I like Reagan as a person but this was dumb as hell. See more 03/02/2019 Nice try, Mr. Reagan. See more 12/22/2012 A pretty generic Western made watchable by the curiosity of trying to make sense of Ronald Regean See more 01/15/2011 This was a really less than average western. Loosely based on the events of the Tombstone era and resembles the later Tombstone flick where a tired lawman just wants to start over somewhere. This is the 1st time I'd seen Reagan act in the film and it wasn't all that great. At the end of the 1st scene where he brawls a bandit, it's like he thought the take was over and the pair were walking over to the food table. It is interesting that Reagan although star of the film doesn't dominate the screen. He looks confused most of the time. Not tortured confused trying to decide what the right thing to do is, just confused. If you're looking for classic great American western this is not it. The Duke is still the head honcho of 1950's cowboy films. With Reagan riding a distant side saddle. See more Read all reviews
Law and Order

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Movie Info

Synopsis Wild West lawman Frame Johnson (Ronald Reagan) arrests a notorious outlaw, but, after the locals threaten to break into the prison and hang the crook without a trial, Frame gets fed up with injustice. He decides to put his days of gunslinging behind him in favor of a simple domestic life with his lover, Jeannie (Dorothy Malone). The couple move to the supposedly idyllic Cottonwood -- only to find that their new home has been overrun by a rogue rancher who has unfinished business with Frame.
Director
Nathan Juran
Producer
John W. Rogers
Screenwriter
W. R. Burnett, Inez Cocke, John Bagni, Gwen Bagni, D.D. Beauchamp
Distributor
Universal International Pictures
Production Co
Universal International Pictures
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 13, 1953, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 5, 2019
Runtime
1h 20m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm
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