I shelled out for this dvd more as a Sinatra completist than a seeker of a successor to Citizen Kane. Any Sinatra fan is aware that when he wants to be a serious actor he is more than capable, witness The Manchurian Candidate, but against that he has a low boredom threshold and a penchant for schoolboy humour that only himself and Dino, Sammy etc find funny, witness Four For Texas, Sergeants Three, etc. Dirty Dingus Magee is definitely in the Four For Texas/Sergeants Three category in fact you could describe it as a Clan movie without the Clan. For reasons best known to himself - he couldn't have needed the money given that Catch 22 has never been out of print - Joseph Heller allowed his name to appear on the credits as a co-screenwriter but clearly saved his A-game for novels. There ARE laffs but essentially this is a one-trick pony.

Dirty Dingus Magee is no classic western by any means. It is a ho hum comedy/western that lacks any appeal for Mr. Sinatra who plays a comedic run of the mill hobo thief. For most of the film he is wearing nothing more than a red single piece long john underwear and a really, really, I mean really bad teenager toupee that reminds me of Moe from the original Three Stooges. I guess the producers spent more on casting Sinatra in the lead role and ran out of money for a wardrobe designer?George Kennedy plays a hapless sap that keeps getting sucked in to Dirty Dingus Magee's schemes to make them both richer and richer. Of course there is a string of horny ladies from the local cathouse, as well as the good looking actresses Lois Nettleton and Michele Carey who seem to be just dying to get into bed with these two over the hill actors Frank Sinatra and George Kennedy? Why are they so hot for lust with Dirty Dingus Magee and Hoke Birdsill? Well because that is probably the way Sinatra and Kennedy insisted the script be written to boost their aging egos. This is a lousy western/comedy lacking any interest what so ever. Sinatra realized there was little interest in his screen appearances anymore from his hey days with earlier classic fine films like Pal Joey and Oceans 11 and so he only appeared in front of the camera four (4) more times spanning over the next 17 years.Sinatra was always a good looking, lean, suave and smooth singing crooner who had natural charisma. Unlike actors such as Sean Connery or even John Wayne who continued throughout their acting careers to hold their audiences attention and fascination, Sinatra as Dirty Dingus Magee was a total bomb. I am glad I watched it because I felt it is like when you drive by a bad car accident, you don't really want to see the carnage but human nature dictates you just have to take a look. And so I did with DDM, I watched it and I can only rate it a 3 out of 10 for good picture quality and nothing else.

Dirty Dingus Magee (1970) ** (out of 4) Dimwitted outlaw Dingus Magee (Frank Sinatra) runs into old friend Hoke Birdsill (George Kennedy) and robs him of $400. Hoke goes into the next town looking for a sheriff but finds the town not to have one but the Mayor (Anne Jackson), who also happens to run the local whore house, gives him the job so Hoke sets out to capture Magee but it turns out both are so stupid they keep up making new agreements to become rich.DIRTY DINGUS MAGEE was a commercial and critical flop when it was originally released and star Sinatra pretty much gave up the acting career until 1977 when he made a television movie and then tried one more theatrical comeback in 1980. This film has been beaten to death by many critics but I think they were a tad bit unfair. Yes, the film isn't nearly as funny as it should have been and yes, perhaps Sinatra could have been more interested in doing better movies at the times but looking back on this film it's a pretty innocent film that manages a few nice laughs and there's no question that there are some good supporting performances.Director Burt Kennedy directed countless Westerns in his career including some that mixed comedy in including SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF. This film manages to get a few nice laughs as both Sinatra and Kennedy's characters set up deals with each other but the two men are just so stupid that one has to cross the other but then isn't smart enough to get away. The majority of the comedy comes from small simple scenes where Sinatra gets in trouble and then has to knock out Kennedy or vice versa. There's a strong supporting group of players who also throw into the dumbness of the characters.As far as the performances go, Sinatra really isn't too bad here but it's clear he really wasn't giving it his all. He had proved that he could be a great actor so it's easy to see why many critics felt he was sleepwalking in movies like this. Kennedy, on the other hand, is extremely good and manages to show off what a good comedic actor he was long before THE NAKED GUN series. The supporting cast contains good performances from Jack Elam who gets to play John Wesley Hardin and Lois Nettleton is great as a nymphomaniac who doesn't want to admit it. Jackson is also charming in her role as the Mayor and Michele Carey is good as the Indian woman who takes care of Dingus.DIRTY DINGUS MAGEE certainly isn't a masterpiece as there are a great number of flaws. The biggest flaw is that there's really not much of a story as the same type of situation just keeps happening over and over. There's also an extremely long shoot out at the end of the picture, which just drags on and on. Still, fans of this type of film will want to check it out as there are a few nice laughs and there's no doubt that the supporting actors are quite good.

I consider myself well educated, articulate, literate. So loving this movie is a bit embarrassing. It is silly, adolescent, a little creepy (How old all the "leading men" are! And how young and voluptuous and willing the women!) But I loved this movie. I laughed all through it.Frank Sinatra is somehow simultaneously wide-eyed and leering as Dingus Magee. He never once gives any indication that he isn't taking this seriously. He plays it like a professional actor! And he does it well.George Kennedy is as professional. He knows that when you play a clown, you must never, ever be clownish. He gives a good, solid, straight performance of a ridiculous character. And when he is sworn in as the sheriff, the oath he takes made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe for a while! Anne Jackson is always worth watching. Her turn as the mayor(madam) of Yerkey's Hole is delightful. She comes as close as anyone to winking at the camera, but she manages to maintain professionalism, and gives the movie her inestimable good work.Then there's the stunning Michelle Carey as (I am not making this up) Anna Hot Water. You now have her name. Need I say more? I have sometimes wondered if it was a law in Hollywood that you couldn't make a western comedy without Henry Jones and John Dehner. Throw Jack Elam in and you have a winner.Suggestive? Throughout? Profane? Never. No blatant sex, no nudity, no gore, the only violence is comic.Silly, stupid, a plot a 13-year-old boy would love.Yep. I really enjoyed this movie!