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 the Films of Dick Powell, it's pointed out that Powell had done a western only twice before in his musical period. Cowboy from Brooklyn and Riding High had modern western settings.

Only Station West was done during Powell's time as a noir star and he brings the genre west with him. Done in the obligatory black and white photography, Station West is a moody atmospheric thriller.

It's not a mystery because you pretty much know who the bad guys are early on. But it does show Powell's dogged determination to find out who committed a gold robbery in which two soldiers were killed while guarding the shipment.

Powell gets good support from Jane Greer as town saloon owner, Agnes Moorehead as a mine owner, and Raymond Burr as a shyster attorney. Burr is a revelation. Usually the villains he did before doing Perry Mason are pretty strong characters. He's quite the weakling here.

Powell never made another western feature film, but his Four Star Productions produced Zane Grey Theatre in the Fifties on television and Powell himself appeared in many of the half hour stories.

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.

Sidney Lanfield was one of those very competent, but unsung directors who knew what they were about and could make a good western. The plot gets a bit tangled here and there; its an oater with a Raymond Chandler style wisecracking detective, but with boots on. And who better than Dick Powell to out-sass the bad guys. The young Jane Greer somehow pulls off a world-weary saloon owner named "Charlie". She was always astonishing and for 1947 runs circles around all the male characters including Powell. There's a good, well-staged fist fight between Powell and Guinn Williams, some Arizona landscapes worthy of John Ford and the uncredited Burl Ives as a sort of chorus to the action and philosophical hotel keeper. Olin Howland shows up as a cook with attitude. Raymond Burr as a craven lawyer and Regis Toomey makes his required appearance. Also, Agnes Moorhead as a nice lady for a change. A western with a twist. You almost expect the dudes in the saloon to be drinking martini's.

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.