The Judge of Harbor County (2021)

Clinton Butler survives an axe attack by his wife and cousin thanks to a faulty blade and the help of Dr. Roth.

Finding a watch, a marshal’s badge and a hat lying in the snow, he assumes the identity of Marshal James Jennings.

Then he purchases land near Helena, Texas , dubs it Harbor County and dispenses justice from his cabin.

Those who survive a session in his judgment chair receive a new lease on life. Those who don’t receive a death sentence.

What Jennings doesn’t know is that an ice house has been dug under his home by the former owners.

He learns that when Rossana Elder, the doctor and a pregnant woman take refuge there from Jacob Foolfoot and his gang.

Review:

This was originally a stage play at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in England before writer, producer, director Al Carretta decided to turn it into a feature length film.

He should have turned it into a book instead. Because this “movie” consists of people sitting around in a single dimly lit room talking to one another.

There might be a clever story or twist somewhere in the 72-minute runtime, but the story is difficult to follow.

And much more likely to put you to sleep than enthrall you.

Al Carretta as Marshal James Jennings, facing his own judgment in The Judge of Harbor County (2021)

Lauren India Moss as Rossana Elder, trying to make sense of the marshal’s story in The Judge of Harbor County (2021)

Directed by:
Al Carretta

Cast:
Al Carretta … Marshal James Jennings
Eddie King … Leyland Elder
Sonny Barr … The Dead Man
Lauren India Moss … Rossana Elder
Stacey Pomeroy … Susanna Cooper
Brett Thorne … Chester Jones
Howard Lewis Morgan … William Cooper
Fran Lal … Karankawa Indian
Lesley Hayes … Dr. Roth

Runtime: 72 min.

Howard Lewis Morgan as William Cooper, facing judgment in the marshal’s chair in The Judge of Harbor County (2021)

Lesley Hayes as Dr. Roth, the woman who helped nurse an axe attack victim back to health in The Judge of Harbor County (2021)

Memorable lines:

William Cooper: “I’m an innocent man.”
Marshal James Jennings: “That’s the tragedy of death, I’m afraid.”

Marshal James Jennings, as Rossana settles in the judgment chair: “That chair is reserved for lawbreakers.”
Rossana: “It’s a chair, Mr. Jennings. You gonna make me sit on the floor?”

Marshal James Jennings: “Look, Rossana, I’m in the sad business of keeping law. And that means killin’ people. I don’t much like doing it. It makes me feel like …”
Rossana: “Like a judge?”
Marshal Jennings: “Yeah, like a judge.”
Rossana: “The judge ain’t all they call you, Mr. Jennings. They call you the devil of Helena.”
Marshal Jennings: “In a god-fearing world, I am.”

Rossana, looking at an old photo of Marshal Jennings: “I ain’t no doctor, but you got an axe in your head. And an axe in your head usually means you’re a dead man. In that picture you look dead. You have succeeded in scaring me, Mr. Jennings.”