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5.0 out of 5 stars
"A Lawless Street (1955) ... Randolph Scott ... Columbia Pictures Classic Western", May 8 2007
This review is from: A Lawless Street (DVD)
Columbia Pictures presents "A LAWLESS STREET" (1955) (78 mins/Color/Widescreen) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Starring Randolph Scott, Angela Lansbury, Warner Anderson, Jean Parker & Wallace Ford --- Directed by Joseph H. Lewis and released in December 15, 1955, our story line and film, Famed Marshal Calem Ware, whose strenous activities on behalf of law and order have exacted a toll on his personal life is keeping the peace in the town of Medicine Bend. Ware hopes to someday be reconciled with his ex-wife Tally Dickinson now a touring musical comedy star. Just as Tally arrives in Medicine Bend, Ware is forced to deal with big-time criminals Thorne and Clark, not to mention their hired gun Baskam. Will he do his duty and rid the town of his outlaw element, or will he hang up his guns as Tally wants him to? --- from the book "Marshal of Medicine Bend" by Brad Ward --- At first glance this may seem like no more than just another passable western, but it's got some meat on its bones ... director Joe Lewis really shines when it comes to building the suspense leading up to the inevitable bar room showdown between the villain and our hero Randy Scott --- One of the highlights is a lively saloon-hall number performed by Angela Lansbury.
Under Joseph H. Lewis (Director), Harry Joe Brown (Producer), Kenneth Gamet (Screenwriter), Brad Ward (Book Author), Ray Rennahan (Cinematographer), Paul Sawtell (Musical Direction/Supervision / Composer (Music Score), Gene Havlick (Editor), George Brooks (Art Director), Jerry Antes (Choreography), - - - - the cast includes Randolph Scott (Calem Ware), Angela Lansbury (Tally Dickinson), Warner Anderson (Hamer Thorne), Jean Parker (Cora Dean), Wallace Ford (Dr. Amos Wynn), John Emery (Cody Clark), James Bell (Asaph Dean), Ruth Donnelly (Molly Higgins), Michael Pate (Harley Baskam), Don Megowan (Dooley Brion), Jeanette Nolan (Mrs. Dingo Brion), Peter Ortiz (Hiram Hayes), Don Carlos (Juan Tobrez),Frank S. Hagney (Dingo Brion), Charles Williams (Willis), Frank Ferguson (Abe Deland),Harry Tyler (Tony Cabillo), Harry Antrim (Mayor Kent) - - - - Randy Scott had a quiet gentleman nature about him which is not seen in the films of today ... Randy took his job and his responsibility to his audience very seriously ,,, would not settle for anything less than his best ... same was true in his personal life.
SPECIAL FEATURES BIOS:
1. Randolph Scott (aka: George Randolph Scott)
Date of birth: 23 January 1898 - Orange County, Virginia
Date of death: 2 March 1987 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California
Special footnote, George Randolph Scott better known as Randolph Scott, was an American film actor whose career spanned the sound era from the late 1920s to the early 1960s ... his popularity grew in the 1940s and 1950s, appearing in such films as "Gung Ho"! (1943) and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1938); but he was especially famous for his numerous Westerns including "Virginia City" (1940) with Errol Flynn and Humphrey Bogart, "Western Union" (1941) with Robert Young and "Ride the High Country" (1962) with Joel McCrea (a coin was flipped to see whether Scott or McCrea would receive top billing, and Scott won despite having a slightly smaller role) ... his long fistfight with John Wayne in "The Spoilers" (1942) was frequently cited by critics and the press as the most thrilling ever filmed; they were fighting over Marlene Dietrich ... another smash hit film together that same year called "Pittsburgh" (1942) once again with Dietrich, Scott and Wayne --- Daniel Webster defines "Legend", as being a notable person, or the stories told about that person exploits --- well by the time Randolph Scott made his best films he had long established himself as a legend in the film industry --- they say practice makes perfect, if that is true by 1958 at 60 years of age he was the master with these oaters from the 50s ... "The Cariboo Trail" (1950), "The Nevadan" (1950), "Colt .45" (1950), "Santa Fe" (1951), "Sugarfoot" (1951), "Fort Worth" (1951), "Man in the Saddle" (1951), "Carson City" (1952), "The Man Behind the Gun" (1952), "Hangman's Knot" (1952), "Thunder over the Plains" (1953), "The Stranger Wore a Gun" (1953), "Ten Wanted Men" (1954), "Riding Shotgun" (1954), "The Bounty Hunter" (1954), "Rage at Dawn" (1955), "Tall Man Riding" (1955), "A Lawless Street" (1955), "Seven Men from Now" (1956), "Seventh Cavalry" (1956), "Decision at Sundown: (1957), "Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend" (1957), "The Tall T" (1957), "Buchanan Rides Alone" (1958), "Ride Lonesome" (1959), "Westbound" (1959), "Comanche Station" (1960) --- Scott's age seemed to matter little, they only came to see another Randolph Scott film and always got their money's worth --- Scott's films were good and getting better becoming classics --- so if you wonder "What Ever Happened To Randolph Scott", just rent or purchase one of his films and you'll see he's never left us.
2. Angela Lansbury
Date of Birth: 16 October 1925 - London, England, UK
Date of death: Still Living
3. Warner Anderson
Date of Birth: 10 March 1911 - Brooklyn, New York
Date of Death: 26 August 1976 - Santa Monica, California
4. Jean Parker
Date of Birth: 11 August 1915 - Deer Lodge, Montana
Date of Death: 30 November 2005 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
5. Wallace Ford (aka: Samuel Jones Grundy)
Date of Birth: 12 February 1898 - Bolton, Lancashire, England, UK
Date of Death: 11 June 1966 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
6. Joseph H. Lewis (Director)
Date of Birth: 6 April 1907 - New York, New York
Date of Death: 30 August 2000 - Santa Monica, California
Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!
Total Time: 78 min on DVD ~ Sony Home Video ~ (9/06/05)
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