Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

So much average

Excellent but underrated film

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Starting off with an Indian raid on a rural farmhouse, this quickly turns into a story of corruption in the nearby town. It's a convoluted trip from the countryside to the town square, with veteran Randolph Scott joining up with rising star James Garner, tossing in saloon singer Dani Crayne and respectful Angie Dickinson with a story that really isn't interesting or well structured. James Craig, leading B actor of the 1940's, is the ruthless town boss who was responsible for inferior ammunition which lead to Scott's brother's death on the opening scene. This is a late example of one of the major studio's attempt to draw in TV viewers (when westerns were everywhere during the late 1950's) and color was taking over the movies. This suffers from being in black and white and wide- screen, as well as overly long. There isn't even a comic sidekick to add humor, leaving this colorless in more ways than one.

With a title like "Shoot-out at Medicine Bend" you know exactly what you're going to get. This is a thoroughly likable B-Western with Randolph Scott, a young James Garner and Gordon Jones as ex-army buddies trying to find out who robbed them, (when they were doing a bit of skinny-dipping), aka the goodies and James Craig, Myron Healey, John Alderson and sundry others as the baddies. There isn't really much plot; it's really just the good guys vs the bad guys and that's it but it's exciting and quite funny. The females involved are a young Angie Dickinson, cast here as the 'nice' girl and Dani Crayne, the saloon singer. Richard L Bare is the director and he doesn't waste a single shot.

In 1957 Randolph Scott was in the middle of producing his best work in the Western genre. A run of seven films in collaboration with director Budd Boetticher and a magnificent career closer with Sam Peckinpah in 1962, would cement Scott's rightful reputation as a genre legend. So where did this oddity come from then? Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend was actually wrapped in 1955, a year which found Scott especially prolific with four other films up for release. This was Scott's last film on his long term Warner Brothers contract and the fact is is that the studio didn't know what to do with the film. This can be put down to a couple of things. Firstly it's shot in black & white, making it the only fully fledged black & whiter he made in the 50s. Secondly is that it's a somewhat bizarre Western as it mixes a revenge driven theme with outright comedy. In the end, after it sitting on the shelf gathering dust for two years, WB execs stuck the film on the bottom rung of 1957 double bills. All of which hopefully explains why the film is little known and rarely thought about in the context of Scott's career.As another IMDb reviewer has rightly pointed out, the plot synopsis is wrong. Not only on IMDb, but also on TCM and some other on line sites! There is no Sioux massacre of the cavalry in this film. The plot sees Scott as Captain Buck Devlin, who along with two fellow cavalry officers (played by Gordon Jones and James Garner) muster out the army and head for Buck's brothers home. As they arrive they find that the Devlin home is under Indian attack, an attack that sees David Devlin killed on account of him not being able to fire his rifle due to faulty ammunition. Fighting the Indians off, Buck and pals learn of the faulty ammunition and trace it to a store in Medicine Bend. Swearing revenge the men set off to get to the bottom of it.After a brisk and dramatic start the film quickly takes you by surprise before the three men even arrive at Medicine Bend. A comedy sequence suddenly unfolds and although it's real funny, it throws you a little off kilter. Here's the thing for first time viewers to note, this is a comedy Western, very much so. We then watch as the three men disguise themselves as Quakers as they go undercover in the town. This basically involves them wearing Quaker apparel and saying "thee" in every sentence! Oh and swearing off whiskey and women, something that doesn't prove easy for Garner & Jones' characters! It's great fun that sees Scott play it with tongue firmly in cheek, and even tho the comedy is at nearly every turn, there's also plenty of action to enjoy. There is after all a matter of revenge and some baddies {led by James Craig} to deliver divine retribution too. There's even a delightful tune into the mix as Dani Crayne (very sexy) huskily warbles "Kiss Me Quick," a tune that puts one immediately in mind of "Little Joe, the Wrangler" from Destry Rides Again. While the appearance of a young Angie Dickinson adds further sex appeal to proceedings.The title is a little misleading since it lends one to expect a Gunfight at the O.K. Corral type movie. It's not of course, but in its own way this is very much a must see for those Western fans who might need a pick me up. Hey it's even got a nice print too. 7/10

'Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend was entertaining, but not a great Scott western. I enjoyed the 'Quaker' touch though; for a western, it was different. Simply, Scott is out for revenge for his brother who was killed, along with his men, using defective ammunition. James Craig had substituted gunpowder with coal dust to make a larger profit on ammunition sold to Scott's brother and friends. He also cheats his customers and competitors in other ways; he is the original 'shoddy retailer of the west.' Along the way to revenge, he mixes with 'Quakers' and learns to respect their ways. In the end, there is a comedic brawl with the James Craig faction in which Scott exacts his revenge. Scott is ably helped by James Garner and Gordon Jones; with Angie Dickinson and Dani Crayne as love interests. This is a definite below average, though very entertaining, western for Scott. I give it a C-.