terrible... so disappointed.

Awesome Movie

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

In the years following the Civil War, the town of Abilene, Kansas is poised on the brink of an explosive confrontation. A line has been drawn down the center of the town where the homesteaders and the cattlemen have come to a very uneasy truce. The delicate peace is inadvertently shattered when a group of new homesteaders lay down their stakes on the cattlemen's side of town.They upset the delicate balance that had existed thus far and spark an all-out war between the farmers, who want the land tamed and property lines drawn, and the cowboys, who want the prairies to be open for their cattle to roam.Watchable despite the poor print and that Lloyd bridges was better under the water than on a horse.

There is a lot going for this Western.Randolph Scott, of course, is one thing that stands out in any Western.But this one is extra clever. At first, the viewer feels it's going to be pretty mushy, but we're given surprise after surprise. There is actually a lot of cleverness in this plot, and it actually becomes very credible, even for this era, and certainly more credible than the ridiculous spaghetti westerns of the sixties and seventies.The wit and banter is great. This is one of Edgar Buchanan's shining roles. And the women are the ones who save the day. There are three focal women who become more and more important during the story. There's the older lady who truly becomes the catapult to make things work, there's the gorgeous girl singing in a church next to Randolph (but later it is Lloyd Bridges we realize who will get her), and there is the relatively plain dance hall girl who does have a great pair of legs. Each of them does their part to make things work.But it is the cleverness of the story that in amazing. There is bloodshed, but it is believable bloodshed. All that happens is very credible, and Scott's character is very crafty.What is most "original" and ground breaking, and even "risk taking" is that this movie shows three women performing heroine heroics that actually outdo the three males they are linked to. And in the end, Edgar gets the brave old lady, Lloyd gets the gorgeous girl, and Randolph get "Legs" in stage play style.

Uncompromising town Marshall Randolph Scott attempts to get to the bottom of a terror campaign against peaceful homesteaders who've settled on government land used by cattlemen in the plains around Abiline, Kansas.Scott gives an appropriately stern performance in this low-budget independent production, but this just isn't as good as his color studio westerns he made in the following decade.The script is intelligent but a bit too talky, failing to ignite any real fireworks until near the end.Cowardly Sheriff Edger Buchanan and Lloyd Bridges as a heroic farmer give adequate support, but villainous Jack Lambert is a real standout.Ann Dvorak's incredibly leggy costumes are a real treat.

Randolph Scott (1898-1987) plays the Marshall Dan Mitchell who tries to keep things peaceful in town.Edgar Buchanan (1903-1979) plays the sheriff Bravo Trimble who rather gambles than shoots. Lloyd Bridges (1913-1998) can be seen as Henry Dreiser.And sure there are also some pretty ladies involved.Abilene Town from 1946 is a nice old western with great actors.There are some brilliant scenes in the movie.I recommend Abilene Town for all of you who like old black and white western movies.Or if you just don't have anything better to do.