ksf-2 Well, the musical numbers keep bring this thing to a screeching halt. Should have left them out. Anne Jeffreys is "Ruby", who does the singing in the saloon, as required. Jeffreys, Randolph Scott, and Robert Ryan star in this very typical western from RKO. Something about Bat Masterson accepting the job of sheriff in a town where sheriffs don't last long. And Gabby Hayes is in here for comic relief, as he was in most of the westerns ever made. It's all "okay", and the conversations are all pretty slow and stilted. (Supporting actress Madge has an interesting story on wikipedi.org , if you have a few minutes. Justice gone wrong.) Fistfights, gunfights, mistaken identity. Novel by William Corcoran.... not a lot of info on him anywhere. On Turner Classic now and then. Watch this one to see Randolph Scott, or substitute any other western du jour. Directed by Ray Enright. Enright had been around since the VERY early days of silents.

weezeralfalfa Yet another cattlemen-sodbuster war story. Of course, the rowdy trigger-happy cowboys and their town buddies are always the bad guys. Scott had just finished starring in a very similar tale in the 1946 "Abilene Town". Well, it does make a very reasonable and inflammatory plot. In this one, we have moved far to the southwest of Abilene, to the small frontier town of Liberal, KS, which is very near the (now) Oklahoma border.Scott plays the historical Bat Masterson, who was actually involved as a lawman in the not too distant town of Dodge City and surrounding Ford County. The final action scene actually has some possible historical basis, although well garbled.Bat did apprehend a man who accidentally killed a saloon girl. There was a Dodge City street incident in which he shot and killed the man who had just shot and killed his brother, who was marshal of the town. Put these two incidents together, garble them a bit, and you have the final action scene. If you have seen the Jimmy Stewart-starring "The Far Country", the ending will also be rather familiar. As in "Abilene Town" (and so many other films), we have two young women involved: a saloon girl, and a straight-laced one. Maggie Meredith(as Susan Pritchard), the prim debutante from the east, is revealed as an opportunistic gold digger, and does not deserve her fate in the story. Anne Jeffreys plays the uncommonly good looking saloon girl Ruby Stone, with a heart of gold, who also doesn't deserve her fate in the ending. Actually, Anne Dvorak, in "Abilene Town" was more charismatic than Jeffreys, had better songs to belt out, and had a much more interesting relationship with Scott. Robert Ryan, as the business partner of the homesteaders and Scott's ally in reigning in the criminal element among the cattlemen, is not my favorite actor. Too stiff, unemotional and non-charismatic. Gabby Hayes, as Scott's other chief ally, plays his usual talkative, ornery, charismatic self. The plot involves the unusual factor of the homesteaders wanting to leave, not only because the cattlemen are destroying their crops and homes, but because their crops dry up before they mature. In the story, a lone farmer says he has discovered how to grow wheat so it won't dry up. The secret is to use the right(imported) seed and plant it in the fall, rather than the spring. Again, this has some historical basis, although garbled. Winter wheat growing on the Great Plains was begun in Kansas by German and Russian Mennonite homesteaders. Others imported improved varieties from Russia. Still, drought was a real threat, and homesteaders sometimes gave up after a series of drought years. Getting back to the story in the film, the cattle interests, of course, try to do everything to prevent the spread of the idea of growing winter wheat and to destroy the special wheat seeds needed to grow this.If you are a dyed in the wool Randy fan, you will want to see both this and "Abilene Town". I somewhat prefer the latter, although the quality of the film copies available is poorer than for the present film. On the other hand, owning a DVD copy of "Abilene Town" is much cheaper, especially now that it is part of a very cheap Scott films package.

krorie This is a fairly good B western that is upgraded almost to A by the presence of Randy Scott, Robert Ryan, and Anne Jeffreys, unusual in that it concentrates on developing new farming methods to make Kansas the breadbasket of America rather than the usual open range issue in the wars between cattlemen and nesters, although that too is touched on. Gabby Hayes was noted for his tall tales. He even had an early television show centered on that talent. Many times his tall tales were lame but this go around the stories are actually humorous. Helping out in this department is the emphasis on a supposedly mythical character Brandyhead Jones. This running joke has a good finale making it even more intriguing. Character actor Harry Harvey as the mayor is a good foil for Gabby.Randy Scott plays the historical Bat Masterson with emphasis on Bat's hidden talents as a writer. The real Bat Masterson ended his life as sports editor for the Morning Telegraph in New York City. Bat was also good with the six-shooter and was a lawman from time to time. Apart from this the rest of "Trail Street" is mainly fiction based loosely on fact here and there.Unlike the average B western, the title of this film relates directly to the story being told. Trail Street is the main street of Liberal, Kansas, the end of the trail for drovers who herd the cattle to the stockyards for shipment to Chicago. The farmers are threatening to turn Trail Street into Wheat Street. Maury (Steve Brodie) and his toady Carmody (Billy House) the saloon operators are determined to get the land for themselves and keep the new farming methods and new strain of wheat out of the hands of the farmers. House makes an excellent sycophant. Madge Meredith delivers the goods as well as the soiled dove with the heart of gold who also has a filial relationship with Allen (Robert Ryan), the local financier who tries to help the farmers. Meredith had a rather brief screen career. Too bad for she was a skilled actress if this movie is any indication of her abilities.A bit confusing is having two heroes rather than one. Bat and Allen work as a team. Both are pals to Billy (Gabby Hayes) which almost makes this into a Three Mesquiteers outing. Fans of Randolph Scott and Gabby Hayes should enjoy this oater. Others may get bored in places, though there is a good shoot out at the end which reminds the viewer of the later John Wayne saga Rio Bravo.

vitaleralphlouis Do a title search on Randolph Scott and TRAIL STREET is the one film missing from the list you've seen. One of 4 films Scott made at RKO during his prime (1947) the others are always easy to get. Liberal, Kansas is just southwest of Dodge City and is a powder-keg about to explode between the trail-riders who drive the longhorns into Trail Street, the town's main street, and the sod-busters who feed our bellies. It'll take a strong man like Bat Masterson to step between the two groups and bring the town to order. More I won't say, except that Scott movies usually have just one pretty girl and this one has three. RANDOLPH SCOTT always played men you could look up to for their sense of honor, courage, level-headedness and willingness to do the right thing. Fifty years ago parents could send their kids to a Scott movie with confidence they'd learn positive values. ROBERT RYAN co-stars in this film, playing a good guy for a change. In real life, RYAN was one of the many WORLD WAR II HEROS who starred in America's movies. How sad what we get these days. George Clooney teaches our young that we ought sympathize with suicide bombers, while Steven Spielberg teaches there is no moral difference between the Olympic athletes murdered in 1972 in Munich and the Palestinian terrorists who killed them. Hollywood 2005 derives their moral compass from too much cocaine and too much commitment to the wacky left. I wonder how all this plays out in Liberal, Kansas. Liberal, after all, was not a dirty word 150 years ago when the city was named.