Der Rächer der Todesschlucht

According to the book The Last of the Cowboy Heroes which is about Joel McCrea, Audie Murphy, and Randolph Scott, the author says that Albuquerque was the only film he personally did not review because he claimed it was lost. Hadn't been seen in years.

Good thing for western fans somebody was doing some spring cleaning at Paramount because a print was apparently found and now it's out on the open market. Albuquerque is a pretty good western too with Scott involved in a family feud with Uncle George Cleveland.

George Cleveland sends for his nephew Randolph Scott with the intention of making him part of his freighting business, headquartered in the fast growing settlement of Albuquerque. Cleveland is more than just a business owner, he's the town boss which he runs from a wheelchair. He even has the sheriff in his pocket.

Randolph Scott is not a cowboy hero for nothing. That includes not backing relatives up when they're villains. He goes to work for a rival outfit headed by brother and sister Russell Hayden and Catherine Craig.

Cleveland is full of all kinds of tricks and he even sends for a western Mata Hari in the person of Barbara Britton to worm her way into the confidence of his rivals. Barbara's great as the homespun vixen who develops her own agenda.

Randolph Scott's original home studio was Paramount, it was where his first studio contract was with. Albuquerque marked the last film he ever did for Paramount and they gave him a good one.

Note also Lon Chaney, Jr., who is George Cleveland's chief henchman, a rather loathsome bully of a man and Gabby Hayes, who is just Gabby Hayes.

Albuquerque must have been loved by Republicans across the nation in 1948 with its chief villain as a town boss who rules from a wheelchair. A certain Democrat from a wheelchair had made hash of them for four straight presidential elections and he was gone. They had high hopes of winning the White House that year too, but things went awry and they had to settle for an ersatz boss getting his comeuppance in Albuquerque. I'm not sure why Cleveland was in a wheelchair since nothing was really made of it in the plot. My guess is he was injured and played the part that way because he had to.

Still Albuquerque must have had great appeal to the GOP market.

Albuquerque will be somewhat of a disappointment for fans of Randolph Scott as well as aficionados of 1940's Technicolor westerns. One of the reasons for watching one of these post-World War II horse operas would be to enjoy outdoor cinematography in the gorgeous three-strip Technicolor process you expect from color movies of this era. Unfortunately Albuquerque was filmed in Cinecolor, an economical 2-strip substitute, which tends to emphasize garish red orange and murky greens while rendering other colors rather pastel. But it was tolerable here. I can remember seeing Cinecolor westerns new, or nearly so, in movie houses when I was a kid in the 1950's, and it seems that the color was considerably more unattractive compared to Technicolor than it shows on the nicely restored Universal DVD of Albuquerque.

The main problem with this picture was that the acting was lifeless and the story unexciting in spite of some pretty good action sequences. The cast was good enough, topped by Scott and gorgeous Barbara Britton with support from colorful Gabby Hayes, menacing Lon Chaney Jr. and pretty Catherine Craig, the lifelong wife of actor Robert Preston. Wholesome Ms. Craig was a good choice as Scott's love interest. Age 33 at the time, she didn't look like Randolph's daughter as some of his leading ladies of the time would! Don't blame the cast, blame Ray Enright's flabby direction and the uninspired Gene Lewis/Clarence Upson Young screenplay.

Particularly wasted in this lackluster oat-burner was the strikingly beautiful and talented Barbara Britton. I admit to having a crush on Barbara since I watched her as a kid in the light-hearted early television mystery series Mr. And Mrs. North. I still think of her one of the great unappreciated beauties and talents of the classic movie era. She promisingly starts out as a bad babe in Albuquerque, but disappointingly, she too soon turns into a good girl, weakening whatever dramatic potential her character had. She usually played classy good girls, but she displayed a sexy, naughty look at times. It would have been interesting if the boring script had let her be bad to the end.

Albuquerque had its moments, especially in the action department. The runaway ore-loaded mule wagons careening down a winding mountain road was an exciting moment. Scott's fist fight with the brutish Chaney was likewise well staged. This was one of the last times Scott was capable of doing one of these physically stressful encounters without the stunt double who didn't look like him. It must have be hard on him, as he was about 50 at the time. Though he was still claiming to have been born in 1903, which would have made him only 45. Since it was known that Scott was a World War I veteran, it went about that he was one of the youngest men to have served in the American Expeditionary force on the Western Front. He supposedly lied about his age to volunteer at 14. But when the 1900 census became available to the public in 1970, it revealed that he was actually born in 1898, meaning he was the more ordinary service age of 19. It was not the Army he lied to about his age, but everyone else!

Never mind, Scott was still up to what he needed to do in Albuquerque. Unfortunately the production was not up to his standard. Not a terrible western, but not nothing to shoot your six-gun into the air about.

1947's "Albuquerque" was shot in the Cinecolor process, usually employed for Westerns, though one horror film made was Lugosi's "Scared to Death" (1946). Randolph Scott stars as Cole Armin, present when his stage is robbed just outside town, where he has been summoned for work by uncle John Armin (George Cleveland), whose name is despised because he rules by hook and by crook. Once Cole learns that his uncle is responsible for the stagecoach holdup (resulting in a man's murder), he recovers the money and joins the opposition, quickly running afoul of Armin's right hand man Steve Murkill (Lon Chaney), keeping a watchful eye on Cole with the aid of newcomer Letty Tyler (Barbara Britton). At a full 90 minutes, there are plenty of obstacles for the dependable Scott, while Cleveland is effectively cast against type as the wheelchair-bound villain (which Chaney would play in 1951's "The Bushwhackers"). Having begun her career opposite Boris Karloff in 1940's "Doomed to Die," attractive Catherine Craig was soon to retire as Mrs. Robert Preston, while Barbara Britton, best remembered for television's MR. AND MRS. NORTH, had previously worked with Randolph Scott in 1945's "Captain Kidd." A born scene stealer is the welcome Karolyn Grimes, little Zuzu in "It's a Wonderful Life," adorable as ever as Myrtle Walton, whose life is saved by Cole when he stops the runaway coach. This was no great stretch for Lon Chaney, repeating his stock henchman part many times over the following decade, but coming just over a year after being cast adrift by Universal, his starring days now behind him, the picture helped kickstart his career again (though his brawl with Scott, cigarette remaining in place, can't compare with the one against John Payne in 1949's "Captain China"). Along with crooked sheriff Bernard Nedell, he actually enjoys more screen time than the main villain.

Released in 1948, "Albuquerque" is a Western starring Randolph Scott as Cole Armin, who arrives in the New Mexican town to work for his wicked uncle's ore-hauling freight line. When he discovers overt corruption, he switches to another company with an eye on his partner's sister (Catherine Craig). Meanwhile his uncle hires a hottie spy (Barbara Britton) from out of town to destroy the competition.

Reviewer msroz said it best in describing "Albuquerque" as an "okay and likable western, neither exceptional nor routine." The story is interesting, but loses momentum here and there; aspects of the film are better than the whole. One aspect that's great is the cast: Scott's amiable as the protagonist, George Cleveland is effective as the wannabe godfather of Albuquerque, Lon Chaney is formidable as one of the main heavies and the two women are gorgeous, especially Catherine Craig. She's both stunning and winsome. Another great element is the scenic Southwest locations, shot in Sedona, Arizona, and Iverson Ranch, California.

As long as you can adapt to the old-style of fimmaking "Albuquerque is a worthwhile Western, but it's hampered by the negatives noted above.

The film runs 90 minutes.

GRADE: B-

While traveling from Texas to Albuquerque in a stagecoach, Cole Armin (Randolph Scott) and the other passengers are robbed by criminals on the road. There is a shootout and the horses dart with a little girl inside the stagecoach, but Cole rescues her. Cole, who comes to the town to work for his powerful uncle John Armin (George Cleveland), discovers that he is a hated man that operates the local freight company and is trying to destroy the competition of Ted Wallace (Russell Hayden) and his sister Celia (Catherine Craig) that was robbed in US$ 10,000.00 in the stagecoach. Further, Cole learns that John Armin is responsible for the heist and he forces his uncle to return the robbed amount to the Wallace siblings. Cole proposes a partnership with Ted and Celia and they form the Wallace & Armin Freighting Company. The new company gets profitable contracts with the local mines and John Armin hires the outsider Letty Tyler (Barbara Britton) to work for Ted, Celia and Cole and spy their business. Further, he uses his henchman Steve Murkill (Lon Chaney Jr.) to frame Cole and put him out of business.

"Albuquerque" is another great western from Randolph Scott that performs his usual role of a fair lonely man that helps people from a city. The story is highly entertaining with action, humor and romance very well balanced with predictable twists. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Romântico Defensor" ("Romantic Defender")