Station West (1948)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

STATION WEST 1948The only way to describe this film, is, film noir meets the wild-west. Dick Powell exchanges his fedora for a Stetson as he plays a Government under-cover agent investigating a series of gold shipment robberies. The Army is also not amused that several of their soldiers had been killed while on escort duty for the gold shipments. The cast includes Jane Greer, Raymond Burr, Burl Ives, Agnes Moorehead, Tom Powers, Gordon Oliver and Guinn (Big Boy) Williams.It takes Powell a bit of time to shift through the possible suspects. He starts the hard way with a knock down drag out fist fight with Big Boy Williams. This soon gets him hired by the main baddie, Jane Greer, who goes by the name of "Charlie".Greer runs the local saloon, stage line and logging camp. All three are tied into the missing gold shipments. One of the local mine owners, Agnes Moorehead, is in with Powell and the local Army commander, Tom Powers. Unable to move the gold out of the area, the gold is being stockpiled at the local fort. Powell is sure this is what the crooks want. He figures the baddies will raid the undermanned fort and scoop the lot.Powell plays his part as if he just stepped out of a hard-boiled noir role. He is always exchanging barbs with Greer and the town's crooked lawyer, Raymond Burr. Powell's rooting around soon stirs up a hornet's nest and bodies begin to pile up. Of course there is mandatory gun battle, with the "right" people collecting all the required lead needed to end their evil plans. All in all a neatly done western with a noir twist. The film has an excellent look with director Sidney Lanfield handling the action. Lanfield was better known for helming several Bob Hope comedies such as, SORROWFUL JONES, THE LEMON DROP KID and MY FAVORITE BLONDE. The cinematography was handled by noir veteran, Harry J Wild. His work included, MURDER MY SWEET, CORNERED, JOHNNY ANGEL, NOCTURNE, THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME, PITFALL, THE BIG STEAL, THE THREAT, MACAO and HIS KIND OF WOMAN.

Station West (1948) directed by Sidney Lanfield, is definitely a cut above your standard Grade-B western. The plot is complex, the camera angles are skillful, and the acting is outstanding.However, this is not a film you see because you like guns, fists, and horses. It's the acting that makes this movie so interesting. RKO put real effort into casting the film. Besides Dick Powell and Jane Greer, the cast includes Agnes Moorehead and Raymond Burr.Powell is typecast as the tough-as-nails stranger in a very tough town. Jane Greer is "Charlie," who owns the gambling saloon, the gold mine, and the sheriff. She wears gowns that no 19th-Century saloon owner ever wore, and, being Jane Greer, she looks great in them. (Greer was, of course, very beautiful, but her beauty came from her intelligence as well as from her features. She was known as "The Woman with the Mona Lisa smile.")Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams plays the bouncer Mick Marion. About Marion the hotel clerk says, "Me, I'd rather fight a forest fire." Powell answers, "So would I." Burl Ives is perfect as the hotel clerk who acts like a Greek chorus as he composes and sings a ballad about the plot as it unfolds. (The chorus ends, "And a man can't grow old, where there's women and gold.") I was able to find a used VCR copy of this film. I don't think it's available in DVD, and you'd be lucky to find it being screened in a theater. It would probably work better on a large screen, but the chemistry between Greer and Powell will work in any format. It's a movie that's definitely worth finding and seeing.

Dick Powell plays his usual sarcastic self in this nice little RKO western about an Army undercover officer investigating a series of gold shipment robberies along with the murder of two soldiers.He gets embroiled with film noir queen Jane Greer as the manipulative seductress who is up to no good. She trades a lot of quick, snappy one-liners with Powell and of course they fall in love. Good dialog.Agnes Moorehead appears as the gold mine owner who is romantically involved with the Army Captain of the investigation, Tom Powers.We also get Raymond Burr as the corrupt but wimpy town lawyer who's involved on the periphery of the robberies that's taking place. Burr was a good heavy for about 10 years before he became PERRY MASON. Too bad he doesn't get to play that kind of character, here. But even as a wimp, he's still sleazy.Nice fistfight scene between Powell and Gunn Williams, who plays one of Geer's henchmen thugs here. He doesn't get to say much other than look mean, but then the role doesn't call for much of that, either.Also notable for the appearance of Burl Ives as the singing hotel clerk who at first, gets on Powell's nerves but later becomes an important ally in his investigation.And at 80 minutes, the film moves along quite smoothly with no awkward moments or wasted screen time. The whole thing ends before ya know it.Gets a 6½ out of 10 for good story and decent action.

Dick Powell was a musical comedy star in the 30's who in 1944 made a dramatic career change when he switched to hard-boiled private eye/cop roles. Station West, his only western, is basically this character in a western setting. Make no mistake, Station West is a good western.Powell plays an undercover army officer trying to find out who murdered two soldiers while stealing a gold shipment (No not the Gold Diggers of 1933). Along the way he meets Jane Greer as a business like saloon owner who may not be what she seems to be. One of the best moments in the film is the knock down drag out fight Powell has with Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, playing a villain this time around. At first, after Powell knocks him down in the saloon, Williams utters a classic line: "You're too small to have made such a big mistake".Other notables in the cast include Raymond Burr as a cowardly lawyer, Agnes Moorehead as Powell's "contact", Tom Powers as the army commander, Powell regular Regis Toomey as an undercover agent and an unbilled Burl Ives as a guitar strumming hotel clerk.The black and white photography is excellent, particularly in the outdoor scenes. Station West raises the question as to why Powell didn't make more westerns. This was a good one.