La cité de la peur

Dick Powell was a musical comedy star in the 30's who in 1944 made a dramatic career change when he switched to hard-boiled private eye/cop roles. Station West, his only western, is basically this character in a western setting. Make no mistake, Station West is a good western.

Powell plays an undercover army officer trying to find out who murdered two soldiers while stealing a gold shipment (No not the Gold Diggers of 1933). Along the way he meets Jane Greer as a business like saloon owner who may not be what she seems to be.

One of the best moments in the film is the knock down drag out fight Powell has with Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, playing a villain this time around. At first, after Powell knocks him down in the saloon, Williams utters a classic line: "You're too small to have made such a big mistake".

Other notables in the cast include Raymond Burr as a cowardly lawyer, Agnes Moorehead as Powell's "contact", Tom Powers as the army commander, Powell regular Regis Toomey as an undercover agent and an unbilled Burl Ives as a guitar strumming hotel clerk.

The black and white photography is excellent, particularly in the outdoor scenes. Station West raises the question as to why Powell didn't make more westerns. This was a good one.

In most ways, "Station West" plays like a B-western...which happens to have an A, or perhaps A- cast. It also reminds me of another Dick Powell film, "Murder My Sweet" (1944)...though instead of Powell playing a cynical and mouthy detective he plays a cynical and mouthy detective...in the old west.

When the film begins, undercover agent 'Haven' arrives in town and his cover is that of a hard-bitten jerk. Soon he picks a fight with the biggest and meanest guy in town...and after besting him, he's given entree into the local gang. And what sort of mischief is the gang up to? They're behind gold robberies...robbing not only the stage but the US Cavalry, when they killed two soldiers.

This movie has most things you'd see in a B, though I really liked seeing Powell in the lead instead of the usual B heros such as Roy Rogers or Hopaling Cassidy. On hand to support him are the likes of Jane Greer, Agnes Morehead and Burl Ives. Nothing really that special here, but a very good western with a very exciting leading man.

In the first fifty years of cinema, the year of 1948 had to be the best for the western genre up to that time. For, in 1948, movie producers generated a number of very good features like "Fort Apache," "Yellow Sky," "Blood on the Moon," "Four Faces West," and "Red River." "Station West" was also one of the better westerns made that same year.

"Station West" features Dick Powell as John Haven, an undercover government agent assigned to investigate a gold robbery and the deaths of two guards, both US cavalrymen. Some have compared Powell's temperament to that of twentieth century detective Phillip Marlowe. He surely has both the sarcasm and self-assurance of the fictional private eye even though Powell is out of his normal character by appearing in a western. Anyway Haven takes the night stage to Rock Pass, a booming but also a corrupt town. The guitar-playing hotel manager (Burl Ives) immediately recognizes Haven as a stranger and lets him know that "Charlie" (Jane Greer) and her minions have their hands in nearly everything of importance. As Haven checks in, he discovers that he will have to make his own bed and that fresh towels will not be provided. "Thanks for the keys," he quips to the singing hotel manager.

Things happen fast in the town gambling house/saloon, where suspicious characters come and go. Haven is attracted to the attractive femme fatale Charlie (actually Charlene) as folks like gambling manager Prince (Gordon Oliver) and house bouncer Mick Marion (Guinn Williams) watch with scowling faces. Even the bartender (John Doucette) eyes the stranger with unfriendliness and suspicion. There is also the jellyfish attorney Mark Bristow (Raymond Burr). Before long, Haven secretly meets with Captain Iles (Tom Powers), Lt. Stellman (Steve Brodie), and Mrs. Caslon (Agnes Moorehead) to work on a plan of action for the investigation. It is obvious that Haven, who has a personality conflict with Iles, has his own methods for smoking out the bad folks. Back in the barroom, Haven – with difficulty – in an all-out brawl defeats Mick. But Charlie, impressed with Haven's victory and toughness, hires him as her transportation boss. In fact, Charlie seems to place much trust in Haven. And Haven obviously likes the attractive woman. So are these two – protagonist and antagonist – really falling in love with each other? Anyway, Charlie has set his plan in motion to get the evil ones, not quite realizing Charlie's role.

Along the way there are several odd scenes. For one, Haven is looking for the gold cache that he ditched when suddenly Mrs. Caslon sneaks up behind him holding two loaded pistols. She thinks he stole the gold. But since Caslon is wearing a nineteenth dress not conducive to riding one wonders how she happens to pop up unnoticed by Haven away from town in the wild. Another odd part involves James Goddard (Regis Toomey). We know immediately after his shooting that he was a Wells Fargo agent. But why did he want to ride the (unprotected) night stage along with Haven in the first place? Also, Haven as a junior officer should be able to recognize a button from a military coat right away. He had to be told the information by the hotel manager. Perhaps some minutes of the movie were inadvertently cut; the feature seen was about 80 minutes long, chopped down by 12 minutes from the original release. Nevertheless the three described situations do not detract too much from the storyline.

The acting is great all-around, while the script is at a high level. Burl Ives homespun folksy singing is excellent. And how about Harry Wild's filming of this feature in beautiful Sedona, Arizona, a personal favorite? So, despite its minor flaws and the fact that action is limited, this western is worth seeing.

Dick Powell, a favorite actor of the Noir genre, stars as military intelligence officer Haven, a smart aleck undercover investigator looking into the deaths of two soldiers. Everything appears, on the surface, to be fairly cut and dried, but a good script and excellent acting creates the moody atmosphere necessary to turn this unassuming western town into a darker place where things are not always as they seem. The plot is tight and the viewer should be prepared to pay attention lest she or he miss important plot points. Greer's performance is flawless, and even the actors who have few lines or quick cameos (Burr's performance comes to mind here), fully invest in their characters.

The filming is rather innovative for the time, with realistic hand-held shots peeking through tree branches, at saddle level, or in the case of the aforementioned fight scene, employing angles that join Powell and Williams as they brawl on the dusty bar-lit road. Lanfield invites the viewer into the scene, creating a first person viewpoint that is entirely intimate.

There are a few flaws in the writing, but on the whole, viewing Stations West is an excellent way to spend 80 minutes. Very entertaining!

In the movie they Might Be Giants, a delusional jurist explains that he loves westerns because they show the clear delineation between right and wrong, which is when I realized why I vastly prefer mysteries to westerns; I like a more complex world view in which the good and evil dichotomy is not so apparent.

Station West is a rather unusual movie in that it looks like a western and has a western-themed score but in terms of story and acting is more akin to 40s tough-guy detective flicks, with more moral ambiguity than you'd see in a John Ford movie. It's not dark enough to be called film noir, but it has some of those elements, and the relationship of Haven and Charlie is very Hammett-Chandleresque.

The movie is enjoyable and briskly paced, with good performances and decent dialog. At the same time, Powell is a bit too unsympathetic for me, with a fairly callous disregard for the results of his actions. And the plotting is a little lazy, with that convoluted, poorly explained style you get in most of the Philip Marlowe films. But if you like 40s detective movies this is a good bet.