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Sort of an early "Unforgiven" in some ways. Also similar to director Lewis' "Terror in a Texas Town" though thankfully not as goofy or campy. You get a real sense of the wild west slowly being tamed, of it making the uneasy transition from a violent, lawless land to a reasonably civilized place where law and order stand a chance. I liked Randolph Scott's metaphor for the town, that it's like a wild animal that keeps getting kicked, and sooner or later it's going to do more than just snarl and growl miserably; it's going to bite back.

Scott makes a good, twinkle-eyed loner hero and Angela Lansbury is quite attractive as his leggy showgirl love interest, (though she would begin playing mothers of grown children just a few years later) but their romance is rather obligatory and uninspired. Both the villains are effective, Warner Anderson as the unscrupulous (what else?)womanizing businessman and Michael Pate as the sinister gloved gunman (Lewis seems to have a thing about gunman wearing gloves). Anderson's line deliveries are extremely flat and matter of fact, which just makes him that much more detestable somehow. He's like a greed machine, no heart, no emotion whatsoever.

At first glance this may seem like no more than just another passable western, but it's got some meat on its bones. And Lewis really shines when it comes to building the suspense leading up to the inevitable bar room showdown between the bad guy and the good.

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.

Posters' reactions to A Lawless Street divide sharply between most who think it's a comfortable classic and a few who complain of its poor writing and flat acting. I'm a considerable Randolph Scott fan, and Angela Lansbury looks great in her tight period costumes, but there's little chemistry and their script doesn't help. The theme of civilizing the west is respectable, with the town as "beast" a fair metaphor, but aside from horses and drinking, the words don't become flesh as Columbia earns its rep as the cheap studio. The only interesting part of the writing is the names: Calem, Asaph, Harley. The score is strangely inappropriate, and the second half seems rushed compared to the building of character in the first half. The populous cast is of some talent and interest, but some characters look alike and appear after such long intervals that they're hard to tell apart. Still and all, Scott has the power of his generation to turn any part into his trademark character of integrity, and Angela seems like a visitor from another planet or studio.

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.

You might notice that Randolph Scott is trying very hard in this film and is committed to a good performance, and this is one of his best. He tried noticeably harder in movies that he produced (understandably) like this one versus the studio-contract films he endlessly tromped through for many years.

Scott, like many leading men, also noticeably worked well with respected superior actresses like Angela Lansbury here, as opposed to just random movie actresses and bimbos. Scott ups his game here and their scenes together are good.

Excellent supporting players are on hand including the avuncular Wallace Ford, perennially versatile and noted actor Michael Pate, and others. John Emery, almost unknown today but part of the Hollywood fabric for a long time, makes a too-rare Western villain appearance as a rotten saloon owner. Middle age and many years of sins are etched in Emery's face. He is perfect for this role. Some fans will undoubtedly remember Emery from the sci-fi classic "Kronos".

Angela Lansbury- what can I say but just note how she distinguishes and elevates this movie. You know what I mean- she's Angela Lansbury.

So the formula routine plotting and the clichés are uplifted in the end result of "A Lawless Street". I can recommend it for Western fans and for fans of the individual actors involved.

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")

Yes, I know my rating for this is a tad high, but I just love both Randolph's work in general and Angela Lansbury at this really sexy juncture of her career. They have a really good chemistry together, even though the age difference is a shade on the 'Love in the Afternoon' or 'Lolita' side and can be a bit unnerving. Though I've enjoyed other Joseph H. Lewis films, such as 'Invisible Ghost' and 'Gun Crazy', he still doesn't have the touch for Western material that Scott would later enjoy in his collaborations with Budd Boetticher. It's not as dramatic a difference as comparing apples and oranges, but it is noticeable. At least when it comes to Westerns (I haven't seen other types of films by Boetticher), the guy's definitely an auteur, on the level of, say, an Anthony Mann, Howard Hawks or even John Ford.

Very enjoyable, and a work of distinguished quality, definitely worth owning and re-watching.

Marshal Calem Ware (Randolph Scott) is tired of Medicine Bend, tired of killing and tired of reprobates trying to kill him. He's also haunted by pain in his past. So when the past resurfaces and yet another scum-bag turns up to put out his light, Calem faces what he hopes will be the final day of reckoning.

Brought to us by the Scott/Brown production company, A Lawless Street is directed by Joseph H. Lewis, adapted from a Brad Ward story (Marshal of Medicine Bend) by Kenneth Gamet and features cinematography from Ray Rennahan at French Ranch - Hidden Valley Road, Thousand Oaks in California. Joining Scott in the cast are Angela Lansbury, Warner Anderson, Jean Parker & Wallace Ford.

This film came a year before Scott would do Seven Men From Now with Budd Boetticher, the start of which was a run of "adult" Westerns that showcased the best of both Scott and the Western of the 50s. So it's not unsurprising to find that "A Lawless Street" is some way short of the quality of the Boetticher/Scott movies. In fact, Scott may not just be in character for the film, he looks genuinely tired, which is in keeping with the very tired feel of it all.

It has proved to be a pretty divisive film amongst Western purists, the routine story not helped by the fact it has been done to perfection before in other, more notable genre pieces. While the script also lacks vim and vigour and Scott is surrounded by very average actors. The ending fizzles out after the promise of so much more, and in fact it's ponderously drawn out. Yet the first half of the film saves it from being a stinker, Lewis' camera-work is fluid and fist fight fans are served up a treat. And we even get Lansbury flexing her tonsils for a delightful little ditty.

So it's very much a film of two differing halves, one that sadly doesn't make for a satisfying whole. Much like Switzerland, I'm staying neutral with it, a 5/10 rating is given on proviso that it's noted that where Scott and Lewis are concerned, I'm unashamedly biased.

This is the title of the German version translated into English. That is the way in the sixties German audience could have been attracted to a western movie. This is for me in some respects an outstanding western. I would like to explain why. American western movies are often not very realistic . I give you some examples: 1. heroic main characters are often good looking, handsome (which is not really what disturbs me) and know how to use a gun or knife 2. the characters are mostly simple, straight-forward, there is the good and there is the evil 3. the movies make us believe that the wild west bustled with a few reasonable and righteous people and astonishingly out of 200 adult inhabitants of a town, 190 are cowards or villains or lynchers and of course miserable people or everything altogether which one could find in the gutter of humankind (outside town the rate is a little more favourable)- something I cannot believe,because I do not want to believe, that we Europeans only sent the sludge of our civilization over the ocean. 4.as for shooting! Shootings in American western movies! A world in itself. I wonder whether writers, directors are aware that this is always the most unrealistic part in their films. In every western movie you see somebody shooting with an old muzzle loader 5 miles and kick the rider from the horse; in every movie you see cowboys shooting from the hip, without aiming on a silver dollar thrown into the air, you guess, they hit, not to speak that villains do not get their opponents although they fire from close distance, let us say 20 centimeters, hundreds of broadsides, while the sheriff is shooting back with one single shot between the eyes of the five bandits. This reminds me to war films, where the American guys are outnumbered by their enemies who have a tremendous arsenal of weapons which turn out to be completely useless whereas the American guy swiftly (and heroically) kills with his Colt a whole batallion. What is this nonsense for? Life is not like High Noon. But sometimes it is good to believe it, right? I stop the list here to come to the "man like a devil". What an incredible scene! The sheriff has a shootout with the villain and what happens? I could hardly believe my eyes. The sheriff is felled - although not deadly. The gangster prevails! When it comes to the second shooting the sheriff is clever enough not to risk a fair duel.Right so! That is something I can take. Can You remember the scene where Rob Roy desperately holds the sabre of the opponent who is going to kill him in the next moment with his bare hand?! The big man has no chance in the fair fight against the small but capable adversary, but he has a helping idea. That is how you have to go against the rat pack of this world, which is often more powerful, more skilled. This western movie has some astonishing aspects and therefore I honour him with 8 asterics. By the way Randolph Scott is in his western movies always already a senior. It is the same in true life. Do not expect too much from the youngsters,usually they wet their trousers in difficult situations!

The main reason for wanting to see 'A Lawless Street' was for the cast. Randolph Scott is a Western genre icon, with the best of his Budd Boetticher work being especially notable, and Angela Lansbury has been a favourite of mine for years (ever since 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' and 'Murder She Wrote' has always been great escapism). Did like the idea for the story and have liked many Westerns, though there are also a fair share of not so good ones.

One of those not so good ones is unfortunately 'A Lawless Street'. It is not awful (it takes me a lot to call any film and such that these days) and has a few things that work quite well, like some of the cast, but overall it is very routine and tired feeling with nobody really being at their best and also tries to do too much. So it is a very uneven experience, frustratingly so somewhat, and in storytelling writing there are plenty of infinitely better Westerns out there than 'A Lawless Street'.

Visually, it looks fine with the photography being slick and stylish while not being basic or overblown. The scenery is beautiful too even if not the real thing. The music doesn't overbear or intrude.

While agreeing that Scott looks tired and is not at his best, his charisma and grit are still present. Ruth Donnelly also has spark and Don Megowan does a great job as the most interesting and most well rounded character.

Did however find most of the cast undistinguished in stock roles and Lansbury is uncharacteristically bland in a role that is underwritten. Didn't detect much chemistry between her and Scott, and it felt more like a father daughter relationship than a romance. So the film is a failure on the romance front. 'A Lawless Street' suffers also from a lot of things. It is very routine in action, with nothing new done with territory that is not really that original or that interesting, with a conclusion that is very soppy in a tacked on way and lacking in excitement or tension.

It is not a well written film, it doesn't sound natural and a lot of the dialogue is over explanatory and soapy. Too many of the characters are one dimensional, with only Megowan's having any form of complexity, and the direction is indicative of a director that didn't have much experience or interest. The pacing is pedestrian and too many elements are included with nowhere near enough done with any of them. Even the few twists provided feel tired.

Concluding, disappointing. 4/10.

Classic western. A marshal(Randolph Scott)finds himself tired of taming the beast. A hired gunman(Michael Pate)is hired by businessmen(Warner Anderson and John Emery)to "take care of" the lawman so corruption can run the town. Plenty of action and strong supporting cast featuring: Jean Parker, Don Megowan, Wallace Ford and Angela Lansbury as the winsome showgirl. Pate as the gloved gunman practically steals the show. The stoic Scott proves why he has top billing.

Was it just me, but after Randolph Scott's Rag nomination in 1954, did he seem happier and more confident? Maybe not, but he seems to have an extra spring in his step in 1955's A Lawless Street. Every time he goes downstairs in his boarding house and enjoys breakfast with the landlady, he charms and flirts with her with a huge grin on his face; it's adorable.

Scottie McScottie Pants plays a sheriff in this movie, but one with enemies. The story arc is actually really entertaining, even though it seems simple enough. The secrets, double crosses, and surprising twists reveal themselves in perfect pace as the town turns against him. Only one person seems to be on his side, and even she has a difficult time of it because of their troubled past: Angela Lansbury. She's a dance hall girl in town for a performance, and Scottie's ex-girlfriend!

Sometimes western movies don't bother with authenticity. I always pay attention to details, like cleanliness of clothing, the outside appearance of buildings, and whether or not respectable women have platinum hair and eye makeup. A Lawless Street features a realism worth noting: the saloon performance by Angela Lansbury. Many times, old west movies glamorize the entertainment industry, showing thin, beautiful chorus girls all perfectly in step dancing to a full orchestral sound. In this movie, Angela's backup dancers weren't all thin and pretty, nor were they all perfectly in step. There were only a few instruments in the pit, and the theater itself was quite small. How refreshing! If you like seeing Scottie defy the odds when they're all against him, check out this entertaining western.

One of the Things that Elevates This One to Slightly Above Average for a Fifties Western is the Ever Present, Ever Humble, Ever Dependable, Ever Demanding, Randolph Scott, the Western Icon Who was Immortalized for His Contribution to the Genre by Mel Brooks in "Blazing Saddles" (1974),

Astute Fans of the Western Know That His Collaborations with Budd Boetticher are the Highlights of His 60 Westerns, and Of Course, No One Could Forget His Curtain Call in Sam Peckinpah's Ride the High Country (1962).

Angela Lansbury Does a Singing and Dancing Number, but Not Much Else. There is an Extended Fist Fight Between Scott's Marshall and a Hulk of Man (said to have killed a mountain lion with his bare hands because the cat scratched his face).

Some Solid Supporting Actors Like Wallace Ford and Others, and the Steady Direction from Joseph H. Lewis Help Somewhat. This Beast of a Town is There to be Tamed by Scott, but He Needs the Help of the Townspeople to Be Successful. Will They Pitch In Before It's Too Late? Good Guess.

Overall, Worth a Watch for Genre Fans. It's a Notch Above Standard Fare but Nothing that Special. Starting the Next Year Randolph Scott Starts the Ball Rolling with Some Very Special Stuff with Boettcher.

Just a western with a twist and Angela is looking great here. :O I have this as part of a collection of 6 movies so if you love westerns this is right up your alley :)

Quality: 6/10 Entertainment: 10/10 Re-Playable: 8/10.

The dependable Randolph Scott is tackling the bad guys again in this highly entertaining western that thoroughly engages the viewer with its array of characters and its plot. Loved the scheming villains in here, who don't show their hand until the end when gunman played by Michael Pate rides into town to put marshal Killem Weir (Scott) six feet under. Liked how the plot takes its time in building the characters and situation. There's suspense, it's colourful, and that tough fistfight between Scott and Dooley is a scene stealer. Loved it.

not a very bad western......predictable.....but fun to see Randolph Scott practically always in a good humour and looking good for his advancing age. the action is alright and the actors do their jobs....but i don't get Angela lansbury. in all her roles she ruins the movie for me I'm sorry but she doesn't pull my heart strings at all. yes luckily randy was in this film because i don't think i would have reached the end. i have 4 more Scott westerns to watch i hope they fare better than this one and Angela is not co starring or even a character actress. oh i forgot the atmosphere of the movie really passes well and the town is well depicted. maybe a few known character actors....gabby Hayes...Andy devine...Walter Brennan would have helped it get better

This is really no lesser an achievement than the renowned Randolph Scott/Budd Boetticher Westerns; then again, director Lewis was no slouch (for he made his fair share of minor classics)!

Scott's role is typical – a legendary marshal involved in a HIGH NOON (1952)-type situation, where he's practically left alone to clean up a town riddled with corruption and violence – but the underrated actor invests it with warmth, humor, tenacity and a quiet dignity. The star, then, is supported by a most excellent cast: Angela Lansbury (a fine actress but a rather unlikely chanteuse), James Bell (a usurped town leader), Jean Parker (an ageing belle and the latter's wife), Wallace Ford (predictably in the role of the reliable town doctor), Ruth Donnelly (as Scott's gracious elderly housekeeper), Jeanette Nolan (as the wife of a revenge-seeking ex-con whom Scott has killed in self-defense), and an interesting trio of villains – powerful boss Warner Anderson (who also fancies himself a ladies' man and, in fact, strikes up relationships with both Parker and Lansbury throughout), shifty but nervous gambler John Emery and smooth gunslinger Michael Pate (making for a worthy opponent to Scott).

The above-average script by Kenneth Gamet (an in-joke shows the calendar in the hero's room as being sponsored by Gamet's Vegetable Compound!) gives characterization reasonable depth: Scott and Lansbury are married but she had left him because of his dangerous job (a situation which she has to live through again now); Scott tells Donnelly that he hears The Beast (which symbolizes the scourge of the town) every morning until it's replaced by church-bells at the end of the picture. The highlights – most of the action seems to take place in and around one particular saloon, though in a montage we're shown that Anderson's 'protection' extends to many others in town – include an energetic and brutal fistfight between the hero and a dim-witted giant (who subsequently joins forces with him), an astonishing shoot-out two-thirds of the way involving Scott and Pate which ends with the former left for dead, and the splendid extended climax. On top of it all is the pleasing cinematography by an expert in color lensing, Ray Rennahan.

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.