Gli avvoltoi della strada ferrata

Seems to be a re-hash of Kansas Pacific with a lot of the same actors!

Troubleshooter Jefferson Harder (John Payne) is sent to Laramie by the Army to investigate the sabotage that is preventing the railroad from finishing it's line connecting the East and West. Upon arrival Payne quickly finds out the worst kept secret in town, that old buddy and current town saloon owner Jim Shanessy (Dan Duryea) is behind the chicanery, though nobody is ever able to prove Shanessy and his henchmen (Myron Healey and Lee Van Cleef) are involved. The town leaders, while happy about support from the Army, are disappointed from the start that they have only sent one man to do the job and grow increasingly critical of the heavy-handed tactics employed by Payne to clean up the town.

Rails Into Laramie packs a lot of action into it's 80 minute run time. Between busting bad guys heads Payne barely has time to strike up a romantic relationship with Dance Hall owner and partner of Jim Shanessy, Lou Carter (Mari Blanchard). Very little melodrama to be found in this one as Payne spends most of his time eradicating the town's scofflaws.

This movie follows the Universal International Pictures formula of using off the A-list leading actors with familiar casts, packaged in a medium budget production. A formula that worked very well for them and it works here too. John Payne may be the best leading actor of the post World War II era that few people remember today. A versatile actor Payne looked equally a home whether in the saddle, a crime drama or a comedy. Here he carries the day in this action saddle flick.

Good drive-in grade Western flick.

A very common and rather clichéd plots for old westerns is the notion of someone trying to stop the railroad. While there really wasn't a historical basis, too many films were about a supposed overt or covert effort to stop progress. In most all of them, however, the reason why the baddies are doing this is pretty obvious...but in this one I really couldn't see why Shanessy (Dan Duryea) is doing this...and it's a major weakness of the film.

The man sent to help get the railroad built is an Army Sergeant, Jeff Harder (John Payne) and through most of the film, he makes very little progress thanks to Shanessy and a rather stupid town that tolerates Shanessy's antics. It all leads up to a murder conviction, a jail escape and train chase. None of it's bad...none of it's outstanding in any way. A standard and rather clichéd film.

By the way, late in the film a lady is shot from about 8-10 feet away with what is probably a .45 Colt cartridge. Amazingly, she survived...a miracle and a half!

A railroad sends an agent (John Payne) to Laramie to try to find out who is behind the efforts to stop the railroad from building its line into the area.

An enjoyable railroad western that is brisk and keeps your attention throughout. There's a nice buddy angle between John Payne and Dan Duryea, but when Duryea realises Payne isn't going to turn a blind eye to his crooked ways, he chooses to get rid of him the hard way. There's fistfights, attempted riots and Lee Van Cleef snarling with his trigger-happy fingers. There's also an interesting women's jury sequence. But what stands out for me is the wonderful looking trains; the finale with a shootout and a fistfight on top of the train is an exciting one. Mari Blanchard sizzles as Payne's love interest.

A satisfying railroad western that makes you feel good. Nice title song sung by Rex Allen.

Progress on the railroad has pretty much ground to a halt as the workers spend most of their time drinking rotgut in Dan Duryea's boozer.

The leading citizens of the town request military help and tough soldier, Payne, is appointed as a sort of temporary marshal. Trouble is, he's an old mate of Duryea so it looks as though there's going to be a conflict of interests.

This is an above average Universal western: the two main protagonists play off each other well and there is excellent support from a very large cast of familiar westerners (many uncredited). Special mentions must go to Lee Van Cleef as a menacing, trigger happy bad guy (was he ever anything else?), Mari Blanchard as a saloon girl with a heart of gold (was she ever anything else?) and James Griffith, cast against type in a humorous role, as a bumbling ineffectual lawman.

Action scenes are well staged - particularly those on the trains - the photography is first class and the Technicolor beautiful as always.

Oh, and as an added bonus for B western fans, there's a title song over the opening credits rumbled out by the ever popular Rex Allen....