Fighting Man Of The Plains [DVD]

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Without breaking any new ground this still manages to get the key ingredients right in the name of entertainment. The script is sharp, the performances equally so (Jory is excellent), and Marin being the good old pro that he was, pushes things along at a good clip.

Aided by his psychotic associate Johnny Tancred (Williams), Slocum sets about trying to monopolise the town and its surrounding territory including the railroad run by Charles Lanyard (Harry Cheshire), the town's founder. Slocum is suspicious of the Marshal and summons Cliff Bailey (Berry Kroeger), a Chicago detective who knew Cummings, to identify him. Bailey is an old friend of Dave Oldham who tells him the full story and, realising that Slocum is crooked, Bailey confirms that the Marshal is George Cummings.Randolph Scott plays Jim Dancer, a member of Quantrill’s raiders (spelled Quantrell in the opening credits) who finds himself a wanted man after the end of the Civil War. He’s eventually caught by a detective named Cummings. But when Cummings dies in a river crossing, Dancer sees an opportunity for a fresh start. He tells the passers-by who find him that the dead man is Dancer and that he’s Cummings. Another mark of a great movie is the number of speaking and participating characters, even with relatively small parts.

Best performance in the film however without a doubt is that of Bill Williams of young on the prod gunfighter in Kelley's employ. He proves a bit too much for Kelley to handle. I had high hopes for this movie, but became gradually disappointed, especially towards the implausible ending. The thing about "Fighting Man of the Plains" is that whilst many movies use that as the entire story this one develops further with more twists. Now you could say well it isn't exactly original as an outlaw using a fake identity ending up being asked to become a lawman has been done a few times as has the outlaw saving the life of the daughter who hates him but it works. There is a nice amount of complexity to it which sets up an element of surprise because you are not entirely sure how this is going to play out. Fighting Man on the Plains" is the perfect late-40's Western, a fully mature old-fashioned good-guys vs. bad-guys bit of adult theatre, a genre film crafted to its full potential; and it sets the stage nicely for the more psychologically complex Westerns of the 50's. Frank Gruber was a darn good writer of often very gritty stories. He wrote more than one story about Jesse James, a character who figures in this movie, too.

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Summary: Former bandit Jim Dancer becomes marshal of a Kansas town and cleans up the criminal element - with the help of his old pal, Jesse James. Most of his Westerns were, if not exactly identical, cut from the same mold so the comparison of one to any of the others must depend on fine judgments about details. Is the film in glorious color? This one is not. Is the location interesting and evocative? Not this one, which looks like the San Fernando Valley used to look before the last inch of it was paved over. Better than usual support? No. Is Scott given any help from the script? An oddity of character? A quirk? An occasional wry turn of phrase? Not here. The result is a typical and not unrewarding Randolph Scott Western that doesn't distinguish itself from the many others he made in these years. A couple of errors out there in the intranet universe need correcting. Some have it that Dale Robertson as Jesse James plays a big part in the cleaning up of Lanyard (yes Jesse is kind of a good bad guy here), but he doesn't as he's barely in it, but he does have a key scene to play in pics finale. So fans of Robertson, in what is believed to be his first credited role, should take that on board. There's a lot going on in Lanyard, with various underhand plottings and a few vengeful motivations. While of course there's some simmering passion waiting to explode. The many key characterisations are richly born out, the action healthy, and there's even a couple of surprises along the way to keep the plotting interesting.