The saloon brawl that gets started when half the crowd sings "Marching Through Georgia" (Yankees) and the other half sings "Dixie" (Rebs) is the best one I've seen in a Western. It's a really long scene, with a huge cast of brawlers, lots of furniture and fixtures torn up - I can't think of another that comes close. Second best is from "Destry Rides Again", also from 1939.
shareBest saloon brawl has to be in Shane.
shareI definitely agree! Best brawl ever!
shareI wish I was in Dixie , hoohray !!!!!!!!
shareA good time was had by all.
In a different war genre, but another great showdown in song at a bar, was at Rick's Place in Casablanca, when the Germans sing a militaristic song in front of the French, the French turn the tables & drown them out by singing the French national anthem & getting the Nazis ticked off.
Yes and both were directed by Michael Curtiz. I wonder if that scene in Casablanca was suggested by him, recalling how effective it was in this film.
shareI thought about Casablanca when I saw the bar scene in Dodge City also.
In Casablanca, the German officers start singing a song that must be called something like "De Fatherland" (pardon my German) and the French patriots start to sing "La Marseilles" to drown them out.
In this movie, the dance hall girls are singing "Marching to Georgia" and the former confederates start to sing "Dixie". That's what gets the brawl rolling.
This movie has great stuntmen who give it their all.
Another great stunt scene involves the bad guys jumping from the train onto the backs of horses. It's a thrill because you know it's real.
This is the second-best I've seen. Top vote goes to Shane.
... Justin
Shane's great and all but this one takes the cake by far. Peckinpah's Convoy has a great barroom brawl as well.
shareI haven't seen Convoy. Did you rate it for the database?
Convoy (1978) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077369/
Rate it here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077369/ratings
...Justin
It deserves about a 2 but because of the fantastic cheese, Peckinpah's great editing, the bar fight scene and for the simple and awesome fact that Bloody Sam made a film about a novety song! That gets at least a 7 in my book.
But to get back to Dodge City's bar room brawl, honestly, I played that scene to several of my friends and they were all blown away. No surprises as Curtiz is one of the best journeyman directors ever.
I think I read somewhere on this site that Dodge City's barroom brawl is the granddaddy of all the epic barroom fights. Can anyone think of an exceptional barroom fight before Dodge City?
...Justin
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The thing I remember best about the fight scene in Shane is that loud cracking punch we hear just as the boy bites down on a peppermint stick.
...Justin
I believe that bits of this Dodge City bar fight can be seen (converted to black and white) in episodes of Maverick, Cheyenne, and other Warner Bros. TV shows of the 1950s. Warner used a lot of cutting room footage in these shows (cattle drives, stampedes, trains, indian charges, you get the idea).
shareShane was a fight, not a brawl-not enough people. This is by far the Best Barroom Brawl ever! How many times do you see full sized round tables flying through the air like feathers? This is one of my all-time favorite westerns, along with Shane (Best Ending) and Red River (Best Fight).
And boy, could Flynn sit a horse...
Red River (Best Fight)
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There's a pretty good one in North to Alaska, but not to take away from the fantastic brawl in Dodge City. It kills me too how Surrett comes down the stairs and has this almost disinterested scowl on his face as the whole place is lighting up with violence and destruction. Good stuff...
shareHis scowl is not at all disinterested, because he owns the place and this crowd of drunk yahoos has just destroyed it, which will cost a fortune to restore. He has a greater interest in what's happening than anybody.
share