University of Virginia Library

Sinatra The 'Dirty Ding-Goose'

By Susan Hardwicke
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Perhaps the greatest thing about
westerns is their mixture of bravery
and tragedy with brawling barroom
scenes. Of course, nowadays most
westerns are comedies, which tend
to under-emphasize the serious
aspects, or even make light of them.
Yet "Dirty Dingus Magee" is one
continuous, riotous chase, the chase
of a small-town, fearfully honest
penny-pincher for a scheming cowboy
(Dingus Magee), who robbed
him of his money and favorite
green derby.

Making It

Frank Sinatra plays the rather
degenerate Dirty Dingus. He calls
himself an "ass breaker," and he is,
in more ways than one, for the
majority of his film time is spent
running from someone, or "making
it" with someone else. What he
does on the screen can scarcely be
labeled "acting"; the only thing
which separates the off-screen Sinatra
from the on-screen Sinatra is his
brunette wig.

George Kennedy performs well
as the small-towner Holk, who
wears ill-fitting suits with great
flair. He also smokes cigars in his
usual style, but his acting is secondary
to what the writers would like
to call a plot.

Anne Jackson comes off well as
Belle, the owner of the town's
whorehouse and, in addition, the
mayor. She plays the part with
case, but tends to be a little too
harsh rather than a little too hard.

Indian Wench

The other female of major
importance is Frank's Indian
wench. Michele Carey plays the role
of a Western Playboy Bunny, a
dumb Indian who has just learned a
new "trick" and wants to play it
all the time. She flaunts a leather
micro skirt and boots (a little too
Hollywoodish), and refers to her
partner as "Ding-goose."

My main criticism of the film is
its commercialization of and superfluity
of sex. Not sex in general,
understand, but the treatment of it
as a gimmicky game instead of what
it is. Sex in "Dirty Dingus Magee"
is more tiresome than funny, and
the film's approaches are too conventional
to evoke humor.

The town is set up as a sexual
free-for-all. Even the seemingly
pure school marm gets her share.
The Indian village is merely a Western
Bunny Club, where the
wrinkled elders also are provided
with entertainment. Sex permeates
the film, but it is never actually
seen, so that "the kiddies" can see
the film without becoming disturbed.

Another abuse is that of the
Indian. He is pictured as a money-crazed
gun trader, an ignorant nonentity,
or an Indian counterpart to
Belle - anything but what he is.

In summary, the film totally lacks
depth - depth in plot, depth in
character, even depth in scenery.
This void cannot be filled with sex
nor slapstick, which neither the
director nor the writers have
realized. "Dirty Ding-goose"
appears only as a hoax to make
money, or another one of Sinatra's
passing fancies.

(Now at the Paramount)