Joe Dakota is a 1957 American Western film directed by Richard Bartlett and released by Universal Pictures. It stars Jock Mahoney, Luana Patten, Charles McGraw, Barbara Lawrence, Claude Akins, Lee Van Cleef, Anthony Caruso and Paul Birch.
A stranger rides into Arborville, a tiny isolated town in California, looking for an old Indian who used to live in the area. The town seems deserted, until meets Jody. The young woman tells him that the other townsfolk are working, and that Joe Dakota—the old Indian—no longer lives there.
The stranger rides out to the old Indian's farm and finds the rest of the townsfolk working on an oil well. The townsfolk tell him to leave, and that the old Indian sold the farm and left town. The stranger sticks around to investigate further, undaunted by the intimidating behavior of the townsfolk. He eventually uncovers an unpleasant truth about the townsfolk and their oil well.
This film provides examples of:
- Big Secret: The Big Bad convinces the townsfolk that what happened to the old Indian is this, so they shouldn't tell outsiders (like the stranger) about it.
- Bittersweet Ending: Jody and the stranger visit the old Indian's grave.
- Character Title: The story does indeed revolve around Joe Dakota.
- Clothing Damage: Non-fanservice examples:
- The stranger's clothes are soaked in oil, forcing him to buy another set from the general store. (Jody brings the new clothes out to him so he doesn't track oil inside.)
- In the flashback, Jody's attacker tears her dress.
- Flashback: When Jody describes in more detail what happened the night she was attacked, we see a flashback of the events.
- Frame-Up: It turns out that the old Indian was framed by the Big Bad.
- Grave-Marking Scene: The townsfolk buried the old Indian in an unmarked grave. The stranger first pounds a cross into the ground as a gravemarker, and later places an item with "Joe Dakota" written on it across the cross.
- Interrupted Bath: After being dumped into the oil-filled pond around the oil well, the stranger returns to town. Jody won't let him use the public bath (upstairs from the general store), so he bathes in the horse trough instead. The other townsfolk return before he finishes his bath.
- No Name Given: The stranger doesn't tell the townsfolk his name, only that he is searching for the old Indian they know as Joe Dakota. It turns out that Joe Dakota is the stranger's name, which the old Indian used because it was the only name he learned to write.
- "No Peeking!" Request: A variant occurs when the townsfolk interrupt the stranger's bath. The women and children head inside, while the men march over to the horse trough to further intimidate the stranger into leaving. He explains that he'd be happy to leave as soon as he finishes his bath, but then they have two options: either he can wait until dark to get out of the horse trough, get dressed, and leave; or they can stand a little closer (to block the women's view of him) so he can get out, get dressed, and leave now.
- Posthumous Character: The old Indian turns out to have died before the film begins, and is seen only in a flashback.
- Rape as Drama: It eventually comes out that the old Indian was hanged for attempting to rape Jody.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: The stranger eventually gives one to the Big Bad.
- Shaming the Mob: A silent example occurs when the stranger rides through town with a rope and a wooden cross. He leaves the rope, tied into a hangman's noose, draped over the "Arborville" sign at the edge of town. Then he continues to the cemetery, where he finds the old Indian's unmarked grave and pounds the cross into the ground as a gravemarker.
- Spotting the Thread: The stranger spots one detail in Jody's (sincere) account that reveals what really happened.
- "You Used to Be Better" Speech: Some of the townsfolk give themselves one, regarding the change in the way they treat newcomers and each other since they began working on the oil well.
- You Wouldn't Shoot Me: The stranger's response at the end when the Big Bad points a rifle at him. The stranger figures (correctly) that he isn't the type to get his own hands dirty, since he has consistently gotten others to do his dirty work for him.
