An unpretentious but,in fact,epic rendition of the classic conflict between open range cattlemen and wire-fencing homesteaders, between rowdiness and vice and the enforced rudiments of civilized town life. Iron-jawed no nonsense Randolph Scott, as town marshal Dan Mitchell, has the dangerous job of trying to keep the peace between 3 factions: the cattlemen and entertainment side of Abilene's main street, the merchants and bankers on the other side of the street and the rather newly arrived homesteaders in the surrounding region. Naturally, the cattlemen resent the intrusion of the homesteaders onto formerly open range. When gentle persuasion fails, the cattlemen try to burn out the sod busters in a scene reminiscent of the previous classic "The Westerner". When this fails to drive them out, they stampede their cattle through the homesteader's territory. Scott must serve as the main gun and mouth defending the interests of the merchants and homesteaders against the gun-totting lawless cattlemen.
Edgar Buchanan's unbelievably cowardly and incompetent character as county sheriff is my main disappointment in this film. Ironically named Bravo, presumably, he is supposed to add some humor to Scott's stone-faced demeanor. But, he comes across as mostly pathetic rather than humorous. Let sleeping dogs lie and run from barking dogs is his ethos. I don't understand why perfectionist Scott puts up with him as his main ally(but sometimes antagonist) in carrying out his duties as town marshal. Scott even gives him bogus credit in a capture, so he won't lose his job!
In the romance department, Scott has a bit of a thing going on with flamboyant dance hall queen Anne Dvorak, representing the wild west side of town, as well as with straight-laced Rhonda Fleming, representing the merchant's side of town. About half way through the film, we think we know which one will ultimately win Scott's heart, but we may get surprised. Most of the limited humor in the film relates to the obvious love-hate relationship between Scott and Anne. Rhonda appears to be a brunette in this B&W film, but in "Alias, Jesse James" for example, we see her famous flaming red hair.
Anne gets to sing 3 songs: the enthusiastic opener on stage: "I Love it Out Here in the West", then "All You Got to do", and finally "Every Time I Give My Heart".
The focus is often a bit fuzzy on my DVD copy. There are several newer DVD releases which may have used better copies? Try to get one of several double feature DVD releases. Mine also contains "Santa Fe Trail".
Edgar Buchanan's unbelievably cowardly and incompetent character as county sheriff is my main disappointment in this film. Ironically named Bravo, presumably, he is supposed to add some humor to Scott's stone-faced demeanor. But, he comes across as mostly pathetic rather than humorous. Let sleeping dogs lie and run from barking dogs is his ethos. I don't understand why perfectionist Scott puts up with him as his main ally(but sometimes antagonist) in carrying out his duties as town marshal. Scott even gives him bogus credit in a capture, so he won't lose his job!
In the romance department, Scott has a bit of a thing going on with flamboyant dance hall queen Anne Dvorak, representing the wild west side of town, as well as with straight-laced Rhonda Fleming, representing the merchant's side of town. About half way through the film, we think we know which one will ultimately win Scott's heart, but we may get surprised. Most of the limited humor in the film relates to the obvious love-hate relationship between Scott and Anne. Rhonda appears to be a brunette in this B&W film, but in "Alias, Jesse James" for example, we see her famous flaming red hair.
Anne gets to sing 3 songs: the enthusiastic opener on stage: "I Love it Out Here in the West", then "All You Got to do", and finally "Every Time I Give My Heart".
The focus is often a bit fuzzy on my DVD copy. There are several newer DVD releases which may have used better copies? Try to get one of several double feature DVD releases. Mine also contains "Santa Fe Trail".