Simply A Masterpiece

Let's be realistic.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

No, it can't be. Randolph Scott in a dull western? I didn't believe it until I saw "Trail Street", a very talky talking picture with a good cast. Here, Scott is Bat Masterson who comes to Liberal, Kansas and becomes Marshal. He comes to the aid of newspaper editor Robert Ryan, one of Hollywood's better if underrated actors. Along for comic relief is old reliable Gabby Hayes, who never disappoints, and Anne Jeffreys as a glamorous dance hall girl.It takes forever for them to get around to the bad guys, spearheaded by Steve Brodie, who 'owns' Liberal, via his saloon. No new ground is broken and the story is the usual good guys vs bad guys, but the script must have been enormous due to the great amount of dialogue. "Trail Street" is for hardcore Randolph Scott fans, who is his usual stalwart self.

Disappointing Considering the Cast. Randolph Scott and Robert Ryan go through the motions on this rather Routine Western about Cattlemen and Farmers in Drought Ridden Kansas. There is a Subplot about how Winter Wheat was Introduced and the Sodbusters are Saved from Pulling Roots and Moving on. There's also a Good Supporting Cast with Steve Brodie and Gabby Hayes. Brodie, Despite an Oily Demeanor and a Villain's Mustache seems Misplaced and Gabby Hayes all but Ruins the Movie with His Typical Shenanigans. In Fact, a Running Gag has the Sheriff telling Him to Shut Up, because He "Talks Too Much". Boy, does He ever. It becomes Silly, Intrusive, and Irritating.Overall, Not a Bad Western Movie with some heavy Love interests and Bad Guys worth Hating and Good Guys, like Bat Masterson around to Clean Up the Street. The whole Cast has done Better but the Film is Worth a Watch because of Scott and Ryan and Not Much Else.

Things are tough in Liberal, Kansas. The wheat farmers are having one heck of a bad time. Kansas doesn't seem to be wheat country. This doesn't bother the cattlemen, led and exploited by Steve Brody. As the farmers try to pull out, one by one, he buys up their land at low prices and sells it at a profit to newcomers and cattle folk alike. I think that's what he does. Anyway, the point is that he's evil.Robert Ryan, a good guy, is lending the farmers all the money he can get his hands on to keep them trying because he feels Kansas can become the breadbasket of America. He comes across a strain of wheat that can survive the summer droughts -- winter wheat -- and saves the day. And you thought Kansas was nothing more than sunflowers and tornadoes.That no-goodnik Steve Brody will do anything to keep the farmers from finding out about winter wheat. It leads to murder, for which Robert Ryan is framed.Enter the new town marshall, Bat Masterson, in the person of Randolph Scott. He begins to introduce law and order into this chaotic Western town even before he steps out of the stagecoach. (He reached out the window and bonks somebody over the head with his revolver.) Robert Ryan is in love with the beautiful Madge Meredith. She seems to love him back but decides to run away with the evil Steve Brody because he, at least, will take her to Chicago with him as his wife and she'll be able to live the good life she's entitled to, rich and spoiled. Now, is that a desirable spouse or what? Ryan's judgmental apparatus must have the density of titanium.It SOUNDS okay and in some ways it's a novelty. That search for winter wheat, for instance, and the question of Kansas' future. But mostly it's rather boring. The story meanders quite a lot and leaves oxbow lakes behind. And that's not the only problem.There is a scene in which an argument takes place between Madge Meredith, the love of Ryan's life, and Anne Jeffreys as the, umm, yes -- as the "dance hall singer" with a heart of gold. It's a fascinating exchange, because it demonstrates that Madge Meredith cannot act while Anne Jeffreys can.There isn't much action in the movie either, aside from hordes of gunmen riding recklessly down Trail Street and shooting things up. But that sort of thing is de rigueur. I mean there's little meaningful action. It's a talky picture.Randolph Scott is winning, as always, but his character is not. He doesn't outdraw anyone. I'm not sure he even SHOOTS anyone. And he smiles constantly and is always polite. A villain, to him, is "this gentleman." He's not nearly GRIM enough, not the engaging and taciturn spoilsport he was to become in his Westerns of the 1950s. He doesn't really want to be a marshall, he tells Ryan. You know what he really wants to do? He wants to be a "journalist," a word that the unfunny Gabby Hayes is unable to even pronounce. (The real Masterson went on to become a timekeeper or something at a world's heavyweight boxing championship bout in New York.) The movie had a good deal of potential, what with the cast and a potentially interesting plot about wheat and farmers and saloons, but it just kind of dribbles itself away into nothing of much interest.

This one is a very solid Randolph Scott Western. He plays Bat Masterson and goes to Liberal, Kansas to clean up the town. He becomes good friends with Robert Ryan who played a very, straight up leading man role. It was not until after this that Robert Ryan began playing much darker roles. In fact, in 1947 Randolph Scott made one other movie which was not a western and never made anything but westerns after that until he retired in 1962. This movie has good pacing and builds up to the climax steadily. I can't say any more as it would give away the plot. Be sure to see this one. 8/10