Film Series at Museum Salutes Make-Believe Heroes of the Old West

Gary Cooper fights for his honor. John Wayne tracks down a young girl’s killers. And Henry Fonda duels at thK. Corral.

For decades, these make-believe heroes have enticed audiences with the legends and adventures of the Wild West.

For two months, at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in Griffith Park, the wagons, saloons and street gunfights are back on screen. In conjunction with a Smithsonian exhibit on U. S. marshals, the museum is presenting a film series, “The Law and the Unlawful,” spotlighting Western classics.

The series began this weekend with “Destry Rides Again,” the 1939 film starring James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich, and concludes May 4 and 5 with “Support Your Local Sheriff,” the 1969 comedy with James Garner. Mary Ann Ruelas, the museum’s assistant director of programming, said the films will be connected by the law-and-order theme represented in the marshals exhibit.

“We decided to narrow it down to Westerns,” Ruelas said, explaining why the museum avoided more contemporary pictures that deal with violence in the streets of 20th-Century America.

Titled “America’s Star: U. S. Marshals, 1789-1989,” the exhibit documents the history of U. S. marshals through the major events in American history, from the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 to the takeover of Wounded Knee by the American Indian Movement in 1973. It will run from March 17 through May 5. There are now 93 marshals in the United States.

General admission to the films is $3, $2 for seniors and children ages 12 and under, and $1 with paid museum admission. All films start at 2 p.m.

The films and their run dates:

* “Destry Rides Again,” today. Stewart tames a rowdy town in this Western satire and tangles with Dietrich, a dance-hall girl. Dietrich sings “See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have.” Directed by George Marshall.

* “My Darling Clementine,” Saturday and March 10. This 1946 classic shows the famous gunfight at the O. K. Corral with Fonda (Wyatt Earp) and Victor Mature (Doc Holliday). Directed by John Ford.

* “High Noon,” March 16 and 17. Cooper and Grace Kelly prepare to leave town when Cooper, playing a small-town marshal, discovers a convict that he put away is returning on the noon train to hunt him down. Made in 1952, it won four Oscars. Directed by Fred Zinnemann.

* “Shane,” March 24. Starring Alan Ladd and Jack Palance, the 1953 movie tells the story of a former gunfighter who comes to the defense of homesteaders and who is idolized by their son. Directed by George Stevens.

* “Gunfight at the O. K. Corral,” April 7. Another film, made in 1957, about the legendary battle between Earp and Holliday, and the Clanton gang. Stars Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. Directed by John Sturges.

* “3:10 to Yuma,” April 13. A farmer, needing money, agrees to hold a captured outlaw (Glenn Ford) until the train arrives to take him to the Yuma Penitentiary, but Ford starts to psych him out. Made in 1957, it’s directed by Delmer Daves.

* “Cat Ballou,” April 20 and 21. Jane Fonda is in this 1965 Western spoof about a notorious schoolteacher who turns into an outlaw. Lee Marvin won an Oscar for his dual role of a drunken gunman and his twin. Directed by Elliot Silverstein.

* “True Grit,” April 27 and 28. Wayne stars as an over-the-hill marshal who helps a 14-year-old track down her father’s killer. Wayne won an Oscar for his 1969 performance. Kim Darby plays the girl. Directed by Henry Hathaway.

* “Support Your Local Sheriff,” May 4 and 5. Garner stars in this parody as gold is found near a Western town, causing problems for the sheriff. The movie also stars Harry Morgan and Bruce Dern. Directed by Burt Kennedy.

The films can be viewed at the Gene Autry Western Museum in Griffith Park, next to the Los Angeles Zoo, 4700 Western Heritage Way. For information, call (213) 667-2000.