O Domador de Cidades

This is Selander's first film for Producer Lyles and his best Western for years. Like all of Lyles' Westerns, the main fault is the pedestrian screenplay which features Andrews as the hired killer seeking revenge for the death of his wife at the hands of Bettger and Cabot. He finds them ensconced as sheriff and saloon owner respectively, from which positions they're bleeding the town dry. Thus Andrews can liberate the town as well as secure his revenge in a corpse-strewn finale. Jaeckel has a marvellous part as Bettger's sadistic deputy.

Phil Hardy

This film begins in Kansas with a gunslinger by the name of "Tom Rosser" (Dana Andrews) having been hired to rid a small town of various criminal elements. Unfortunately, in the process of doing this his wife "Carol Rosser" (Coleen Gray) is accidentally shot and killed by an unknown assailant instead. To that effect, knowing only that a wealthy businessman by the name of "Riley Condor" (Bruce Cabot) paid the mysterious gunman, Tom makes it his mission in life to find and kill Riley regardless of what it takes. That being said, the scene then shifts to two years later with Tom riding on a stagecoach to Montana and while traveling he happens to strike up a conversation with an attractive woman named "Susan Tavenner" (Terry Moore) who tells him that she is joining her husband "Guy Tavenner" (DeForest Kelley) who works at a saloon in the same town in which Tom has been hired to clean up. She then informs him that her husband just happens to be employed by a man named Riley Condor-and this is exactly what Tom wanted to hear. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film was made during a time in which the American Western dominated the drive-in movie circuit and it wasn't until the 70's that pictures of this type essentially went into decline and were replaced by their low-budget cousins from Italy and Spain. Be that as it may, although I happen to like both of these styles, those viewers who enjoy films of the Classic Western variety might want to check this one out and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Dana Andrews stars in Town Tamer and in the title role of a man hired by railroad entrepreneur Barton MacLane to clean up a town. Usually Andrews operates within the law, but not here because town boss Bruce Cabot owns both sides of the law. That leaves Andrews little room to maneuver.

But Andrews doesn't care, he and Cabot have some bad history which is topped off by Cabot hiring someone to bushwhack Andrews, but instead kills his wife Coleen Gray. That makes it personal.

Cabot is really some piece of work, as John Wayne said to Ed Asner in El Dorado 'you don't wear a gun so I guess you hire it done'. Cabot has quite a few gunslingers on the payroll and a couple peace officers in sheriff Lyle Bettger and punk deputy Richard Jaeckel. Only Bettger has a habit of going off the reservation every so often. He's the wild card in this deck.

Town Tamer is a pretty violent AC Lyles 'geezer' western and this one is directed by western veteran Lesley Selander who must have a couple of hundred directorial credits. Besides those already mentioned you'll find such people as Philip Carey, Terry Moore, Jeanne Cagney, Lon Chaney, Jr., Richard Arlen, and Sonny Tufts. And least we not forget Pat O'Brien as a most corrupt town judge. O'Brien has only one scene and I wish we saw a bit more of him.

I saw Town Tamer as a kid in theaters as the back end of a double feature. I liked it then and I like it now.

For a western film, it's a pretty fun watch. Two of my favorite actors are in this one which makes it all that much better: Lon Chaney and Deforest Kelley.

Tom Rosser is hired to help clean and straighten up a town where some of the folks in the area want to keep the town as wild as possible - and running it the way they want it ran, not the way mayor and law want it to be. It's up to Rosser take the men out get the town back to good.

The movie does take a few turns which keeps the story on the interesting side. All the actors give fine performances - so it's worthwhile watching if you like a good old fashioned gun-slinging western film.

7.5/10

This is far from being a high budget blockbuster with sweeping cinematography, high level production values and innovative writing. It has to rely on the actors working on sets that could have and probably were used in television westerns. Fortunately, the actors, most being solid character types, deliver the goods very professionally and carry the story and the viewer's interest. That acting even manages to overcome some dull and predictable directing.

Dana Andrews shows the effects of years of alcohol by this point and although that actually plays to the lead character, one suspects the movie would have been elevated with someone like Glenn Ford in that role but no doubt he would have needed a higher pay cheque as well. Terry Moore could have been given more to do as they downplayed romance in favour of the building confrontation. But she definitely looks good handles what she is given well.

Pat O'Brien, Lon Chaney Jr., Bruce Cabot, Lyle Bettger, Richard Arlen, Barton MacLane, Richard Jaeckel all show up like old friends who have done these roles a dozen times each but what could have been stale characterizations are instead well dished out from practised professionals still trying to earn their pay and their next job.