Toughest Man in Arizona

One of the better oaters that Republic put out that at least tries to rise above the usual B western fare. We even get to listen to Vaughn Monroe sing us a couple of songs, if you can stand it.

Marshal Matt Landry (Vaughn Monroe) is after an outlaw named Frank Girard (Victor Jory) for selling guns and whiskey to the Apaches. He meets up with him and after a struggle, brings him back to town. Along the way he picks up the survivors of an Indian massacre, Mary Kimber (Joan Leslie) and a couple of kids. During the Indian raid, Mary's cowardly husband Verne (Harry Morgan) slips away and ambles into the nearest settlement leaving Mary and the two kids to fend for themselves.

After Landry reaches town, he locks Girard up for transport the next day for trial in Prescott, AZ. In the meantime a woman named Della gets word to Frank's two brothers (Ian MacDonald & Lee MacGregor) and they spring Frank on the trail as he's riding in the back of a hearse with Marshal Landry. They also have the help of the cowardly Verne to intercept the telegraph messages as to when they'll exactly be leaving.

Landry's left severely wounded during Frank's escape and makes it back to town. Meanwhile, Verne gets greedy and agrees to intercept more telegraph messages for when the next Wells Fargo shipment is supposed to be sent out. He wants a cut of the loot. It's also an excellent way Frank and his gang can intercept and rob the shipments ahead of time. And all throughout this adventure, Mary Kimber still believes her husband is dead.

When Marshal Landry gets well enough, he interrogates Della because he believes she knows something about the robberies and where Frank's located. She breaks down and tells him and Landry and a posse head out in the middle of a rainstorm. When they reach Frank's hiding place, there's an excellent shootout in the barn and Frank and his brothers are killed while greedy Verne shoots Landry's Deputy (Edgar Buchanan) in the back. Landry slugs Verne and takes him back to town for trial for murder. And that's pretty much where the story ends.

This oater would be even better if so much of it wasn't filmed on Republic's sound stages interspersed with some on-location filming. It makes the whole thing look awkward and docks it down a point for me.

Still, it has a better than average plot which give it a better than average rating on the imdb scale, imo.

6 out of 10

Colorfor, good locations, despite a foreseeable topic, this RG Springsteen's western is surprisingly good for this early fifties decade, regarding the low budget other films that the director offered us a few years before. I was a bit afraid because of Vaugh Monroe's presence that could foresee a singing movie, as were Roy Rogers's features. But no, singing scenes are brief and the few of them don't spoil the entire movie. So, this western is pretty good for its kind; please don't try to compare it with a John Ford's or Henry Hathaway's movie. RG Springsteen needs to be reconsidered as a little great western maker.

The title must have been left over from something Republic did not release; it certainly does not fit this western. It can't be referring to wimpy Marshall Landry (Vaughn Monroe who is hardly leading man material), or to outlaw Frank Girard (Victor Jory) who can't even outfight the Marshall.

Along with the title disconnect is a story not so much bad as it is strange. The Marshall, a widower with two children, picks up a couple more when he discovers them in the desert following an Indian attack. Also surviving is Mary Kimber (Joan Leslie), who thinks her husband was killed in the attack. This sets up quite a few scenes of domestic bliss as Monroe gets to do what he does best-sing ballads around the piano. The producers recognized that they had something here and gave a lot of time to this domestic angle and the growing attraction between Mary and the Marshall.

Unfortunately there is a side story about a bunch of criminal brothers and Mary's husband (a very young Harry Morgan) who ran away during the Indian attack and is very much alive. Morgan has fun playing one of the most cowardly characters ever to grace the sagebrush. Charlita plays a saloon girl called Senorita who appears to be feeble minded and slightly nuts.

The action sequences are extremely weak, mostly second unit long shots in the desert cut into close-ups shot back on the sound stage. Unfortunately the tone and brightness of the backgrounds do not match and everything looks rather stupid. Which is a good word for Frank Girard who at one point gets the drop on the Marshall but inexplicably fails to disarm him (duh).

Jean Parker does a good job as Della the saloon dancer and Frank's girlfriend. Leslie and Parker are both excellent actresses and one wonders why they signed on to this movie. But at least it provides one more opportunity to see them in a film. Diana Christian does a good job as the Marshall's teenage daughter and they go out on a cute little bit with her commentary on the relationship between her father and Mary.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

A B western that can be considered among those at the top of the list. It's a pleasant film to watch, of course we can't compare it to the countless good westerns of the 50s (this one is from 1952), but it doesn't disappoint us. Moore has the main role and takes the opportunity to also appear with songs that are compatible to a certain extent with the film's plot, they do not disturb, and we can see the great Edgar Buchanan once again, in fact, it is difficult to find a film in which he is not in the cast, it's incredible! Overall, a good film, very typical of B films about the Old West from the late 40s and early 50s. Obviously, at the time we had several other westerns of recognized quality, but this one is, without a doubt, good fun!