Pluskylang Great Film overall

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

classicsoncall I never made the "Bad Day at Black Rock" connection that some other reviewers mention for this film, so I had to go back and take a look at my own comments for that film. It turns out Spencer Tracy made an observation about Black Rock that went something like this - "... only just seems to me there aren't many towns like this in America, but one town like it is enough." Well, with this story, I guess there really was another town like Black Rock, going by the name of Arborville. It wasn't much of a town really, and wasn't mentioned to be in any particular state; the only thing you could assume was that it was out West somewhere.The thing about the filming that I find most curious were the handful of scenes in which characters get covered with oil. That first time with Joe Dakota (Jock Mahoney) had me jumping out of my seat - how'd they do that? I mean, Mahoney was seriously covered head to foot in some kind of black gunk, and even assuming it wasn't really oil, how did the film makers get the consistency right, and how did Mahoney keep it out of his eyes? I'm still puzzling over that.As it turns out, Mahoney's character becomes the conscience of the town of Arborville when he begins digging into the disappearance of the 'other' Joe Dakota. The story did a credible job of explaining what that was all about, leaving no loopholes for the citizens to employ once it became evident that the 'real' Joe Dakota had done his homework.Two things bothered me though. The first was the flashback scene showing the Old Indian coming to Jody Weaver's (Luana Patten) aid after she was assaulted by the unidentified attacker. He was smiling, and that didn't square with the situation. The other was during the eruption of the oil well when Joe got into the scrap with Cal Moore (Charles McGraw). Moore's tough guy henchmen (Claude Akins and Lee Van Cleef) were actually cheering for Joe! Why would that be the case? That situation just seemed to be out of synch with the story and the characters.Oh yeah, one other comment I made in my 'Black Rock' review - the Eastman Color format managed to add a modern sensibility to what might otherwise have been an out of place 1950's Western. Guess what? - this turned out to be that out of place 1950's Western.

bkoganbing TV's Range Rider tried his hand at big screen westerns and this one, Joe Dakota is one of them. Sad to say though that Jock Mahoney came along a bit too late to be a big screen cowboy hero. And the film while good is not anything you wouldn't see as a Gunsmoke episode.The plot is considerably borrowed from MGM's Bad Day At Black Rock, but its hero is a soft spoken Tom Destry like character. Jock Mahoney is in the title role and he comes to town looking for someone the locals only knew as 'The Old Indian'. He's disappeared now and a bunch of the locals under the supervision of town tough Charles McGraw are drilling an oil well on the Old Indian's land.Only it's not his land, it's Mahoney's land which 'the old Indian' was squatting on for Mahoney. Mahoney starts investigating, start asking questions and pretty soon the town is riled. Something McGraw hopes to use when the time comes.Mahoney does make a good cowboy hero, born a little too late to have made a career on the big screen. I remember him well as the Range Rider during my childhood years. As for 'the Old Indian' and McGraw if you've seen Bad Day At Black Rock you know how this one comes out.Such fine folks as Luana Patten, Barbara Lawrence, Paul Birch, Claude Akins and Lee Van Cleef fill out the cast. Sad Jock Mahoney came along too late to be a big screen cowboy hero.

bonfay-1 I saw this movie when I was younger and never forgot the story, but I couldn't recall the title. I'm so glad to find it after a long search. A man called Joe Dakota arrives in a small western town in California looking for his friend, an old Native American who owns a farm nearby. Why is there such secrecy around the old man's disappearance? Nobody in town wants to talk about it. The mystery slowly unfolds as Joe Dakota launches an investigation. One scene that was unforgettable to me was the bathing scene with the sound of meadowlark birds singing in the background. Great story!

ryals A good film for Jocko fans and western fans in general. Seems to be a remake of "Bad Day at Black Rock" with a few changes. Mahoney is the stranger coming to town as Spencer Tracy was in "Black Rock". The old Indian that's missing was and older Japanese man in "Black Rock", and the town seems to be hiding something just like the townspeople in "Black Rock". Jocko investigates and irritates the townspeople just like Spencer Tracy did in "Black Rock". Mahoney always looks good on a horse and this film is no exception. There are a couple of good fight scenes with Jocko doing all his own stunts as usual. Could have used more action, but all in all is a good western.