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DVD Abilene Town
Stiff-as-a-board town marshal Randolph Scott, with his laconic drawl and smiling as if at some personal joke, is the moral authority of an end-of-the-trail frontier town in this surprisingly intriguing 1946 Western. The community is literally split down the middle--shops and churches line one side of main street, saloons and taverns the other--and Abilene's citizens tolerate the rowdy, rough-and-tumble antics of trail hands and rambunctious cowboys as long as they remain on their side of the street. Lloyd Bridges plays the leader of a flock of newly arrived settlers who inadvertently tip the uneasy balance when they string up the open range and draw the fire of the cattlemen, who bring their reign of terror into the town. Edwin L. Marin's professional (if pedestrian) direction keeps the film plugging along, but the smart script, an ingeniously mercenary climactic battle plan, and a defiantly righteous performance from Bridges give the film bite. Hellfire in heels dance-hall girl Ann Dvorak's love-hate relationship with Scott provides comic sparks and a potent challenge to his chaste courting of shop girl Rhonda Fleming. Edgar Buchanan is suitably dry as a cowardly, card-playing county sheriff who knows the value of a voting constituency. --Sean Axmaker
This film is interesting because it shows how a city that was built and that prospered thanks to the driving of cattle from the SouthWest to the Middle West becomes a farming town. The fight between the drovers and the homesteaders is very well depicted, with its killings when the drovers deem it necessary to impose their domination. But the city is cut in two. On one side of the street the saloons. On the other side of the street the shops. The change comes when the homesteaders cut the trail with their barbed wire and when the shopkeepers understand that there is more money on the homesteaders' side than on the drovers'. The drovers push their last pawns, with the support at first of the saloonkeepers. But it means killing some homesteaders and the local marshall opposes it and imposes law and order. The drovers are driven out of the city. The city becomes a farming city and Kansas moves from a state that is crossed by herds of cattle to a farming state. This is possible, though never really said, because the railroads make it feasible to transport the cattle from Texas to Illinois without having to cross any farmland any more. But this future is made a reality because of the alliance of the shopkeepers with the homesteaders. We thus are shown history in its making.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Cattlemen vs homesteaders vs law
In this opus,town marshall(Randolph Scott)his his hands full keeping trail hands,at the end of a drive from treeing his town. Added to this is an enept sheriff(Edgar Bucannan),a hot headed farmer (Lloyd Bridges)and the town's saloon keepers -who will do anything to make a fast buck
The formula of 'bad guy turned good' works quite well. In spite of the charisma of Randolph Scott and Robert Young, I think that Dean Jagger is the leading light in this whilst, Virginia Gilmore adds the female charm. I liked it but then I am a western lover!!! More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ray Enright DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Rage At Dawn": From 1955, this one is in technicolor and is based on the Reno Brothers. Robbing banks, terrorizing the good townspeople, and just being a general menace to society, these guys needed to be stopped! Enter one brave lawman James Barlow( Randolph Scott), who infiltrates the outfit and tries to restore law and order to the community. It's not easy though, as the town leaders are getting kick backs from the bad guys are are not willing partcipants to seeing justice done! More wonderful stars include Forrest Tucker and an appearance by Edgar Buchanan. Directed by Tim Whelan.
This film may also be purchased in a set of 4 other "oaters" by Platinum disc. The set is called "Great American Western Vol 1". The other films included are "To The Last Man"/1933,"The Fighting... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Tim Whelan DVD Release Date: Released the 18 June 2002 Usually ships within 10 to 11 days
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Although this western is to be released in June, and I write a month or so in advance, its release is of such importance that note of it needs to be made prior to release date. When the Daltons Rode is a superior little western, and this release, by Universal, is very much welcomed. Although this movie has been available in several variable, generally poor video releases in the past, to finally have it on DVD, presumably well mastered by Universal engineers, will be a delight. Thanks Universal. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Randolph Scott - Kay Francis Director(s): George Marshall DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Good western scripts are rare. This one is excellent. The acting is very good. Robert Preston delivers his usual complex baddy performance to excellent effect. The character of "Whispering Smith" is tailormade for Alan Ladd. There is great support from all other members of the cast - which means very good direction. The only disappointment is the ending which is something of a let-down. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Leslie Fenton DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Anthony Mann made some of the greatest Westerns of the 1950s, all in partnership with James Stewart. Perhaps needing to prove himself as his own man, in 1957 Mann dropped out of Night Passage to do this film. It's a rather schematic character study about a lawman-turned-bounty-hunter (Henry Fonda) who undertakes the professional shaping-up of an effete young sheriff (Anthony Perkins) too tentative to police the streets of his town. Those streets are compositionally present right outside the oversize window of the office where Perkins undergoes a lot of his soul-searching and arguments with Fonda. That's typical of the film--scrupulously designed, yet abstract to the point of dramatic aridity. The VistaVision black-and-white of cameraman Loyal Griggs (Oscar®-winner... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Henry Fonda - Anthony Perkins Director(s): Anthony Mann DVD Release Date: Released the 11 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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