"Prisoners of the Casbah" director Richard L. Bare's "Shoot Out at Medicine Bend" qualifies as an entertaining, lightweight, black & white western with Randolph Scott and James Garner. This fish-out-of-water oater looks like it might have been inspired by the Gary Cooper's Quaker Civil War movie "Friendly Persuasion." Our rough-riding heroes impersonate Quakers after the dastardly villains rob them of everything. This western has the flavor of a vintage Warner Brothers' with Errol Flynn.
This western gets off to an exciting start with Captain Buck Devlin (Randolph Scott), Sergeant John Maitland (James Garner), and Pvt. Wilbur 'Will' Clegg (Gordon Jones), freshly mustered out of the cavalry, showing up at Buck's brother's house as Indians are shooting the place up. It seems that Buck's brother Dan Devlin (Ed Hinton) has been sold defective cartridges for his repeating rifle. The Indians kill Dan because he cannot get his long gun to fire. Buck and company run the Indians off. Dan's neighbors explain how they came to get the faulty ammunition. Buck and his friends decide to ride to Medicine Bend to clear up the skulduggery. Before our heroes reach town, they bathe in a pond, and several stealthy owl hoots steal not only their horses but also their guns, uniforms, and the money that they had taken up from the community. Left with little to wear, the destitute threesome wander into a congregation of Quakers camped out on the prairie. The Brethren explain that they, too, have been robbed by three ruffians in cavalry uniforms. They furnish our heroes with Quaker garments and horses, and Buck and company head off to Medicine Bend. No sooner do they ride into Medicine Bend than they discover the chief culprit is shady entrepreneur Ep Clark (James Craig of "Drums in the Deep South"). Clark stole Buck's horse, and he owns a crooked mercantile store where he sells shoddy goods. He has the town sheriff, the mayor, and most of the townspeople under his thumb, and he acts like a gangster when anybody threatens his business.
Our heroes masquerade as Quakers after they enter Medicine Bend. Buck watches as Clark's henchmen, Rafe Sanders (Myron Healey of "African Manhunt") and Clyde Walters (John Alderson of "Cleopatra"), vandalize King's General Store. They smash eggs, sabotage a canister, and smear black grease on white muslin. Intervening on behalf of the storekeeper, Buck makes his interference appear like a blundering buffoon who gets in the way of Rafe and Clyde, while he picks Rafe's pocket and steals the amount sufficient to replace the damaged goods. Meantime, Buck persuades Maitland and Clegg to go undercover and work at Clark's Pioneer Emporium. Buck approaches Mr. Elam King (Harry Harvey) about helping him contend with Clark and his hooligans. Buck, Maitland, and Clegg undermine Clark's business, and Buck becomes romantically involved with King's pretty daughter Priscilla King (Angie Dickinson of "Rio Bravo") after she catches him trying to clean up his wounds. Rafe tried to set a trap to catch Maitland and Clegg, but Buck warned them off. He falls into the trap, but he manages to escape before Clark and company can catch him red-handed in the act. Instead, Clyde winds up plunging into the deep well hidden beneath the floor of Clark's office. Later, the pioneers that were robbed are privately reimbursed.
Clark discovers the masquerade after saloon songbird Nell Garrison (Dani Janssen of "Written on the Wind") exposes Clegg as an impostor. Sheriff Bob Massey (Trevor Bardette) arrests Maitland and Clegg, but Buck gets away. Clark has Massey stage a kangaroo trial that sentences the sergeant and the private to swing on the gallows. When Nell convinces Massey to release them, Rafe surprises the lawman and kills him. Meanwhile, Clark and his henchmen ambush the wagon train bound for King's General Store. Although Clark waylays the wagon train, Buck manages to save his companions from swinging. Inevitably, Clark and Buck shoot it out in Clark's general store and then swap blows in a rugged fistfight. Clark has Buck subdued and is poised to shoot him down in cold blood when he gets a taste of his own medicine. The cartridges in the rifle don't work, and Buck kills him with a scythe. This tongue-in-cheek western features a solid cast headed by the ever dependable Randolph Scott. James Garner plays second banana and former Green Hornet star Gordon Jones provides the comic relief. Craig makes a stern villain in city slicker's regalia. Harry Lauter and Myron Healey are well cast as Clark's accomplices. Warner Brothers' stock players proliferate in this amusing dust raiser.
This western gets off to an exciting start with Captain Buck Devlin (Randolph Scott), Sergeant John Maitland (James Garner), and Pvt. Wilbur 'Will' Clegg (Gordon Jones), freshly mustered out of the cavalry, showing up at Buck's brother's house as Indians are shooting the place up. It seems that Buck's brother Dan Devlin (Ed Hinton) has been sold defective cartridges for his repeating rifle. The Indians kill Dan because he cannot get his long gun to fire. Buck and company run the Indians off. Dan's neighbors explain how they came to get the faulty ammunition. Buck and his friends decide to ride to Medicine Bend to clear up the skulduggery. Before our heroes reach town, they bathe in a pond, and several stealthy owl hoots steal not only their horses but also their guns, uniforms, and the money that they had taken up from the community. Left with little to wear, the destitute threesome wander into a congregation of Quakers camped out on the prairie. The Brethren explain that they, too, have been robbed by three ruffians in cavalry uniforms. They furnish our heroes with Quaker garments and horses, and Buck and company head off to Medicine Bend. No sooner do they ride into Medicine Bend than they discover the chief culprit is shady entrepreneur Ep Clark (James Craig of "Drums in the Deep South"). Clark stole Buck's horse, and he owns a crooked mercantile store where he sells shoddy goods. He has the town sheriff, the mayor, and most of the townspeople under his thumb, and he acts like a gangster when anybody threatens his business.
Our heroes masquerade as Quakers after they enter Medicine Bend. Buck watches as Clark's henchmen, Rafe Sanders (Myron Healey of "African Manhunt") and Clyde Walters (John Alderson of "Cleopatra"), vandalize King's General Store. They smash eggs, sabotage a canister, and smear black grease on white muslin. Intervening on behalf of the storekeeper, Buck makes his interference appear like a blundering buffoon who gets in the way of Rafe and Clyde, while he picks Rafe's pocket and steals the amount sufficient to replace the damaged goods. Meantime, Buck persuades Maitland and Clegg to go undercover and work at Clark's Pioneer Emporium. Buck approaches Mr. Elam King (Harry Harvey) about helping him contend with Clark and his hooligans. Buck, Maitland, and Clegg undermine Clark's business, and Buck becomes romantically involved with King's pretty daughter Priscilla King (Angie Dickinson of "Rio Bravo") after she catches him trying to clean up his wounds. Rafe tried to set a trap to catch Maitland and Clegg, but Buck warned them off. He falls into the trap, but he manages to escape before Clark and company can catch him red-handed in the act. Instead, Clyde winds up plunging into the deep well hidden beneath the floor of Clark's office. Later, the pioneers that were robbed are privately reimbursed.
Clark discovers the masquerade after saloon songbird Nell Garrison (Dani Janssen of "Written on the Wind") exposes Clegg as an impostor. Sheriff Bob Massey (Trevor Bardette) arrests Maitland and Clegg, but Buck gets away. Clark has Massey stage a kangaroo trial that sentences the sergeant and the private to swing on the gallows. When Nell convinces Massey to release them, Rafe surprises the lawman and kills him. Meanwhile, Clark and his henchmen ambush the wagon train bound for King's General Store. Although Clark waylays the wagon train, Buck manages to save his companions from swinging. Inevitably, Clark and Buck shoot it out in Clark's general store and then swap blows in a rugged fistfight. Clark has Buck subdued and is poised to shoot him down in cold blood when he gets a taste of his own medicine. The cartridges in the rifle don't work, and Buck kills him with a scythe. This tongue-in-cheek western features a solid cast headed by the ever dependable Randolph Scott. James Garner plays second banana and former Green Hornet star Gordon Jones provides the comic relief. Craig makes a stern villain in city slicker's regalia. Harry Lauter and Myron Healey are well cast as Clark's accomplices. Warner Brothers' stock players proliferate in this amusing dust raiser.