Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend (1957)

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

People are voting emotionally.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

NOTES: Although well-produced, Scott's second last film under his Warner Bros contract was churlishly handled by the studio in post-production and publicity. The movie was deliberately over-lit by cinematographer Carl Guthrie who had been assured that all prints of the film would be washed in a sepia bath. This would restore tone and contrast, making the images that look washed-out and over-exposed in ordinary black-and-white take on sharpness, contrast and color. Without over-lighting, many of the shots would look too dark when printed in sepia. However, the studio decided to save money by releasing prints in black-and-white only. Economy was also exercised on posters and lobby cards - the latter, overprinted in a deep red, are probably the least attractive cards the studio ever issued.COMMENT: An ingenious little western with a novel plot idea which allows for both action and comedy, plus a touch of romance. Randolph Scott, reaching the end of his career here still delivers the goods in his battle against those delightfully unscrupulous villains, James Craig and Myron Healey. While it's a late appearance for Scott, it's an early one for Angie Dickinson (her 9th actually) - though her fans are going to be mighty disappointed by her prim and modest demeanor and attire (Dani Crayne plays the saloon singer and plays it very nicely) - and an even earlier one for James Garner (his 3rd). He is just as uninspiring (both physically and histrionically) as ever. However, the rest of the support cast is very able. There's a fair bit of action with Scott doubling as a sort of masked avenger. Interest does flag a bit towards the end but it is revived with a bang by a splendid climax in which Scott and Craig demolish practically the entire contents of a well-stocked general store. Bare's direction is efficient without being in any way distinguished. The film is helped in its early stages by a bit of location shooting and production values generally are first rate - with a special mention for the lavishly stocked sets. There are a goodly number of extras milling about. Photography and other production credits are adequate.

"Shootout at Medicine Band"--the title shootout of which doesn't occur until the film's almost over--is a flat, dull, by-the-numbers western and Scott's last for Warner Brothers, where he made some of his best ones. Scott seems to have some idea of what a dog this picture is, as it's plain to see that his heart isn't in it and he basically sleepwalks his way through it. Can't blame him, though. Even a supporting cast of familiar western faces--Trevor Bardette, Harry Lauter, Harry Harvey, among others--can't make up for the inept direction, hackneyed and predictable script and feeble attempts at comic relief in the form of Gordon Jones, a good character actor who does much better in actual comedies ("The Abbott & Costello Show", "My Sister Eileen", "McLintock", among others) and is badly miscast. James Garner and Angie Dickinson do well enough in early roles, but while blonde dance-hall girl Dani Crayne--better known later on as the widow of David Janssen--is absolutely gorgeous, she's not much of an actress, which doesn't really matter since she's not given much to do except look great (which she does well), warble a song (which she doesn't do well) and wind up with James Garner.All in all, this is one of Scott's lesser--much lesser--westerns and worth a look only if you're a Randolph Scott fan and have never seen it before. That's why I watched it, and I was sadly disappointed at its low quality. If you're a Scott fan you no doubt will be, too.

Following service in the US Army, western soldier Randolph Scott (as Buck Devlin) heads for his brother's home in Nebraska. Unfortunately, some boisterous Native American Indians are shooting up the place when Mr. Scott arrives. His brother is one of the casualties. After speaking with townspeople, Scott blames the death on bad ammunition. Scott decides to investigate the matter in "Medicine Bend". The pioneer town is controlled by dastardly James Craig (as Ep Clark), who sells shoddy merchandise at exorbitant prices. Responsible for the bad ammunition that killed Scott's brother, Mr. Craig also attempts to put pretty Angie Dickinson (as Priscilla King) and her shop-owner father out of business...On the way to "Medicine Bend", Scott and his traveling buddies James Garner (as Johnny Maitland) and Gordon Jones (as Wilbur Clegg) stop for a cleansing skinny-dip. While they are carousing around in the water, their clothes are stolen. The three men happen upon a religious gathering and are given Quaker-like clothing. The unfortunate event turns out to help them go undercover as missionaries in "Medicine Bend". However, this means refraining from drinking , smoking and sexual pursuits. Tightly-attired women like Ms. Dickinson and saloon singer Dani Crayne (as Nell Garrison) may prove too tempting to resist. This western with a sense of humor could leave you chuckling with the blameless Indians.****** Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (5/4/57) Richard L. Bare ~ Randolph Scott, James Craig, Angie Dickinson, James Garner

Here's something I never thought about before - Randolph Scott and James Garner appearing in the same picture. Appropriately it was a Western, with the pair, along with Gordon Jones, comprising a trio of cavalry men resigning their posts to investigate the killing of Captain Buck Devlin's (Scott) brother due to faulty ammunition he purchased via a trading post in Medicine Bend. Along the way, the boys are hijacked of their clothes and horses while taking a swim, and manage to reinvent themselves due to a chance encounter with a band of Quakers who have been similarly robbed by the same bunch. Interestingly, by the time the story was over, it was never established who those robbers were, but all signs point to Ep Clark (James Craig) and his bunch at Medicine Bend.If I hadn't seen Angie Dickinson's name in the opening credits, I wouldn't have been on the lookout for her, and probably would have missed her presence as Priscilla King, niece of a shopkeeper in competition with the entire Clark enterprise. She manages to figure out Buck Devlin's connection to recovered stolen money and goods suffered by local homesteaders, becoming a willing ally and nominal romantic interest for Scott's character. Garner and Jones have to tough it out under wraps as Quakers for the entire picture, swigging buttermilk at the local saloon instead of whiskey. Except for that unfortunate incident when Private Klegg (Jones) spills his guts to Ep Clark's saloon singer Nell (Dani Crayne) when he drops his guard and starts knocking 'em down. It all worked out OK though; about that time Nell had a change of heart and opted out of the murder racket.Whenever I see Randolph Scott pop up in a picture, I'm always on the lookout for a fair share of outfit changes, and in this one, they were built into the story. His character is in and out of the Quaker duds more than once, exchanging them for an all black outfit in which he lays waste to Clark's henchmen while recovering money and jewelry for the homesteaders. As I think about it now, Devlin shouldn't have been able to get out of that scrape of falling through the trap door in the floor of Clark's business office, but then the story would have ended right there. After all, the good guys have to come out on top.Here's the thing I couldn't figure out - in the early going, Devlin managed to filch a couple hundred bucks from Clark and his goon Walters without their knowledge. Clark got so incensed that he had Mayor Sam (Don Beddoe) set a reward of a thousand dollars for the capture of the perpetrator. You don't need a whole lot of math experience to know that that was a bad deal.