Daisy Town (1971)
7/10
Western zing with French flair
19 March 2005
A group of pioneers are on their way out west, when they come across a solitary daisy in the vast desert. The wagon train unloads and sets up 'Daisy Town,' named for the solitary flower. Within very little time, the town has sprung up, and even quicker, crime has come to the little town. All seems bent on recklessness, until one day, Lucky Luke rides into town, on his horse Jolly Jumper. Every bad guy in town tries to take a shot at Luke, but the man seems to always be 2 steps ahead, as one implies, 'This kid can shoot faster than a shadow.' The mayor of Daisy Town then recruits Luke as the new Sheriff. The law seems to once again be upheld, square dances go off without a hitch, until word comes that the fiendish Dalton Brothers are in the area. Led by the diminutive Joe Dalton, the big-talking desperado and his brothers begin to wage a battle against Luke's wits and the townspeople.

The film is based on a French comic-book, so the style is pretty close, though the story's humor at times doesn't quite translate over into English that well. some interesting visual gags abound, such as the building of the town, as building's spring up like flowers, and town signs come with paint and lettering included. Luke also defies logic several times. There is a nicely paced sequence at the end where Luke and the Dalton's have a showdown, and it delves into all the western clichés: growing shadows, closed windows, deserted streets,etc.

A nice little film ,though probably won't be figured out by the mass American audience. After this, the follow-up 'The Ballad of the Dalton Gang' was released, though with a different voice-dub cast.
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