Sheriff Tom Peavy is the aging sheriff of Contention, who suddenly finds himself investigating a strange string of murders.
Someone is prowling the streets at night, killing unsuspecting women when he finds them alone.
A school teacher named Betty Coles is the first to die, found mutilated and hanging from the rafters in her classroom.
Other victims soon follow. For clues, the sheriff has an odd pattern from the bottom of the killer’s boot and a dairy the school teacher left behind, with a missing page that likely named the killer.
As the death toll mounts, signs point to a cowboy named Dave Riley as a prime suspect. He was with a saloon girl named Judy the night she was killed.
But no one is above suspicion. That includes the sheriff’s deptuy Alan Conley (Miguel Corona), a fast gun determined to make a name for himself.
And the hunt for the killer becomes more personal when he turns his attention to pretty young Melissa, the girl the sheriff’s been courting.
Angelo Ortega as Sheriff Tom Peavy, a lawman with a string of murders to solve in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
Miguel Cornoa as Deputy Alan Conley, always eager to display his gun skills in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
Review:
My, oh my, is this ever a low-budget fiasco best avoided.
The acting is far from the best, but even a stellar cast couldn’t turn this poorly produced mess into a decent Western.
The problems include amateurish scene cuts, a silly score, crappy cinematography and a pitiful sound mix. Then there’s the script.
One of the silliest segments comes when the sheriff interviews saloon girl Judy as part of his investigation. Seems she was secret friends with the school teacher, something she begs the sheriff not to reveal lest the lest school teacher’s reputation be tarnished.
In the very next flashback scene, saloon girl Judy walks into a public restaurant, sits down across from the school teacher at one of the tables and asks the school teacher to give her reading lessons. That way, she can become a school teacher too and escape her life of whoredom.
The big twist/reveal at the end of the movie is handled in an equally inept fashion.
Wendy Wiltsey as Melissa, the girl who has captured the sheriff’s heart in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
Thomas W. O’Mary as Doc Bennett, the sheriff’s confidant in Sherrif of Contention (2010)
Directed by:
Thomas W. O’Mary
Cast:
Angelo Ortega … Sheriff Tom Peavy
Miguel Corona … Deputy Alan Conley
Wendy Wiltsey … Melissa
Thomas W. O’Mary … Doc Bennett
Eric Scot Frydler … The Parson
Steve Johnson … Dave Riley
Nick Bonacker … Mayor
Mari-Jo Davis … Parson’s wife
Christy Linden … Teacher Betty Coles
Christen Cearfoss … Saloon girl Judy
Also with: Ivan Harrison, Charley Miller, Margaret Helmer, Brendan O’Mary, Michaela Carrozzo, Diana Solorzano, Mark Landis, Adrian Woodhall, Chris Ansoff, Mark Landis, Jeff Gordon, Jim Kelly
Runtime: 101 min.
Christy Linden as Betty Coles, the school teacher whose death is the first in a string of murders in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
Nick Bonacker as the mayor of Contention, pressing for a case to be solved in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
Memorable lines:
Sheriff Tom Peavy: “You could have been killed. You’re a lawman, not a gunfighter.”
Deputy Conley: “I’m both.”
Cowboy, getting his prescription from the doctor: “A shot of tequila every two hours? I can do that.”
Sheriff Tom Peavy: “What are we dealing here with, doc?”
Doc Bennettt: “I don’t know if there’s a name that classifies it. Some kind of lunacy. Or just plain evil.”
Deputy Conley: “The parson’s wife is dead?”
Sheriff Tom Peavy: “Was she shot?”
Deputy Conley: “I couldn’t tell.”
Sheriff Tom Peavy, when his deputy brings back the murder suspect dead: “I wanted to see the fear in his eyes when he dropped through those trap doors on his way to hell.”
Deputy Conley: “Well, I made sure he didn’t go out painless.”
Deputy Conley: “I used to think I knew what a killer looked like. But I realize now, a killer can look like anyone. Even someone you know.”
Steve Johnson as Dave Riley, the oft-drunk cowboy suspected of murdering women in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
Christen Cearfoss as saloon girl Judy, a whore hoping for a different life in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
Eric Scot Frydler as The Parson, a Civil War veteran welcomed in a new town in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
Mari-Jo Davis as the parson’s wife, mendling in the personal life of Sheriff Tom Peavy (Angelo Ortega) in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
Wendy Wiltsey as Melissa trying to reassure Sheriff Tom Peavy in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
Angelo Ortega as Sheriff Tom Peavy and Deputy Conley (Miguel Corona) look for clues in the school teacher’s diary in Sheriff of Contention (2010)
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Loved Sheriff of Contention western movie