SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF!
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
James Garner starred in this 1969 film after establishing his peculiar brand of cowardly hero in TV’s Maverick, and before adopting a modern variation of it in another classic TV series, The Rockford Files. This film plays on the same basic vibe, but that shouldn’t take away from just how perfect Garner is at playing this type of character. In Support Your Local Sheriff!, he plays a guy who accepts the job of small-town sheriff only on a whim and for a day, but stays on – and eventually finds himself in the crosshairs of gunslingers, and uses his wits, rather than his firearms, to combat them. Filled with playful supporting work from Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, Joan Blondell, Dub Taylor, and Henry Jones. Oh, and Suzanne Pleshette, one of my all-time favorite actresses, co-stars. Enjoy.