A Lawless Street

The story is simplicity itself. Scott is the marshall keeping the town (referred to several times as a wild beast) peaceful despite the efforts of two corrupt businessmen to take it over and run it on their terms. They hire a gunman (Pate) to come in and knock off Scott. At about the same time Scott's showgirl wife (Lansbury) shows up. They've separated because she doesn't want him using guns to earn a living. Or something like that. (Where have we seen this before?) Pate shoots Scott, who recovers later and shoots Pate. The businessmen are subdued by the rest of the townspeople who have come to their senses and acquired ethics. Scott hands over his badge because the beast has been tamed and the town no longer needs his kind of marshall. He rides off into the sunset with his wife and a carriage full of luggage and mulligan stew. The end.

Angela Lansbury is a first-rate actress. She wows the audience in pieces as different as "The Manchurian Candidate," "Death on the Nile," and "Sweeney Todd" on Broadway. But she's given practically nothing to do here. Warner Anderson's acting is flat and matter-of-fact but he's okay. The other villainous businessmen are less than interesting, which is too bad because movies like this depend as much on the character of their heavies as they do on the star. Wally Ford is in the Thomas Mitchell/ Edgar Buchanan part. The movie's score blossoms during the overture to Lansbury's stage appearance. Elsewhere the score is overblown and sounds hastily assembled with comic notes where none are called for.

The second half of the movie deteriorates. I cannot imagine why the rich ranchers and the rest of the townspeople (the wild beasts) have a sudden and entirely unmotivated change of heart and rally to Scott's side. Also, Scott gets to beat hell out of a human being the size of Man Mountain Dean, without using a gun. The two men have a lengthy and brutal fistfight and wind up with their shirts torn to shreds but not a drop of blood is spilled. But the first third of the movie gives Scott some scenes and dialogue that are outstanding for him, considering his usual persona. He shoots a man in self defense and is, if not ashamed of having done it, at least remorseful. The victim's widow has some sensible and believable lines too, and not favorable to Scott. Scott doesn't go on about his sadness -- he never goes on about anything. But we can sense the writers and the director giving him a chance to play something more than a heroic marble statue. It would have been nice had the rest of the movie been so played.

No need to repeat the plot since it's a pretty standard one. Considering the talent involved, the results are more than a little disappointing. I agree with other critics—Scott looks tired and less motivated than his usual self. Plus, the unlikely pairing of him with an actress 30- years younger (Lansbury) only accentuates the problem.

It's also a talky indoor western, perhaps to accommodate the many veteran actors in the cast, with only Donnelly (old Molly) showing any real spark. Those many speaking parts also make for an unwieldy storyline. And for some reason, cult director Lewis shows little engagement as the rather flat performances and impersonal climax demonstrate.

Not everything is downside. Don Megowan's hulking gun-hater comes across as an interesting character, certainly no stereotype, in a role that should have been bigger. There're also a couple of unexpected twists that help spark interest. But, the overall results remain uneven, at best. Good thing for western fans that Scott soon hooked up with Buddy Boetticher and Ranown, a combo that knew how to get the most out of the aging actor in a series of memorable classics. But despite the presence here of Ranown's producer Harry Joe Brown, this is not one of them.

As I said yesterday concerning another film with Randolph Scott and directed by Andre de Toth, this kind of western not made by Budd Boetticher has not the same taste and flavour as the latest's stuff. It remains very classic, predictable, not cliché ridden at all, on the contrary. But the directing skills of Joseph H Lewis are obvious. Though I will always prefer the last film - TERROR IN A TEXAS TOWN - than this one. Good guys vs Bad guys scheme bores me more and more these days. I will always prefer Boetticher's seven westerns, the best for me starring Randolph Scott. Despite the good performance of Michael Pate as the villain. Jo Lewis put his trade mark however, with some camera work, angle and so on; such as the scene when Scott is wounded on the forehead.

In Medicine Bend, Marshal Calem Ware {Randolph Scott} is the man that brought law and order to the town, supported by the powerful rancher Asaph Dean (James Bell) and his reputation; his skill with his gun is frequently tested by gunners that unsuccessfully challenge him. When the greedy local businessman Hamer Thorne (Warner Anderson) brings the actress Tally Dickenson (Angela Lansbury) to perform a show for the locals, Calem is haunted by his past since Tally is his wife that left him in Apache Wells due to his dangerous way of life. Meanwhile Thorne associates to the scum Cody Clark (John Emery) and together they hire the outlaw Harley Baskam (Michael Pate) that is considered the fastest gunner in the region to duel with Calem and kill him and leave Medicine Bend ready for their dirty businesses.

"A Lawless Street" is a good western about a man that makes the difference in a small town. I am not a great fan of this genre, but I like a lot the elegant Randolph Scott, an actor that successfully performs the typical sheriff or cowboy in these movies. His characters have usually the same characteristics of a honest man with a past. Angela Lansbury is an actress that I used to see ad an old lady, and is it nice to see her with thirty year-old only. Michael Pate, Warner Anderson and John Emery perform great villains. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Obrigado a Matar" ("Forced to Kill")

A town is at the crossroads between law and order and its commercial interests, saloon owner Cody Clarke (John Emery) and mayor Hamer Thorne (Warner Anderson) choose the latter in order to maintain the surging saloon business. In order to achieve their goal they have to get rid of the competent marshal played by Randolph Scott, and hire a gunman (Michael Pate) to take care of him. Scott is wounded and widely believed to have been killed, but comes back to settle scores, while his ex-wife (Angela Lansbury) who is now a singer and dancer in a burlesque company comes into town and does a quite revealing song and dance number. Directed by B film genius Joseph H. Lewis, the film has originality, style, and quite an interesting premise, though the opportunities slip by.