Randolph Scott plays Marshal Dan Mitchell, who’s in charge of keeping law and order in Abilene, a wide open, end of the trail town where the saloons and businesses cater to the cowboys.
But homesteaders are starting to show up, and that’s making some ranchers and town leaders nervous, including cattle king Cap Ryker and saloon owner Charlie Fair. They set out to scare off those homesteaders, by burning homesteads and destroying crops.
And while Mitchell isn’t at all reluctant to step into the fray, the same can’t be said for Sheriff Bravo Trimble (Edgar Buchanan), who’d rather play cards than keep the peace.
Meanwhile, Mitchell has to decide between two potential lady loves, store owner’s daughter Sherry Balder (Rhonda Fleming), who represents the settled life that’s the future of Abilene; or a saloon singer named Rita (Ann Dvorak), who represents the rowdy ways that are on their way out.
Randolph Scott as Dan Mitchell, determined to see the homesteaders survive in Abilene Town (1946)
Edgar Buchanan as Bravo Trimble, shocked to learn his prized prisoner has escaped in Abilene Town (1946)
Review:
The action sequences show their age, but this is an entertaining film, one of the better Randolph Scott Westerns from the 1940s. In one memorable scene, store owner Ed Balder is frantically doing calculations about how much homesteaders might spend so the businessmen in town know which side they should support in the coming showdown. But it’s the interaction between Mitchell and Trimble, who has no interest in bravery, and between Mitchell and the fiery Rita that are most entertaining. Ann Dvorak turns in a spirited performance, insisting she’ll never wear an apron, belting out dance hall tunes and kicking Scott’s character in the shins repeatedly because he’s risking his life on a daily basis for so little.
This marked just the third credited role for Fleming, whose beauty would grace many a Western to come. She winds up in the arms of another young actor, Lloyd Bridges, one of the leaders of the band of homesteaders.
There’s a neat little ending involving playing cards, too.
Rhonda Fleming as Sherry Balder, the woman who loves Dan but hates the way he keeps putting himself in danger in Abilene Town (1946)
Ann Dvorak as Rita, the dance hall queen quarreling with Dan Mitchell again in Abilene Town (1946)
Directed by
Edwin Marin
Cast
Randolph Scott … Dan Mitchell
Ann Dvorak … Rita
Edgar Buchanan … Bravo Trimble
Rhonda Fleming … Sherry Balder
Lloyd Bridges … Henry Dreiser
Helen Boyce … Big Annie
Howard Freeman … Ed Balder
Richard Hale … Charlie Fair
Jack Lambert … Jet Younger
Hank Patterson …Doug Neil
Dick Curtis … Cap Ryker
Earl Schenck … George Hazelhurst
Eddy Waller … Hannaberry
Runtime: 89 min.
Songs:
“I Love it Out in the West” by Ann Dvorak
Richard Hale as Charlie Fair, owner of the saloon where Rita entertains in Abilene Town (1946)
Dick Curtis as cattle king Cal Ryker with his men in Abilene Town (1946)
Memorable lines:
First cowpoke: “There’s not a single saloon on this side of the street.”
Second cowpoke: “What a waste.”
Bravo Trimble to Dan Mitchell: “You got the idea that you oughta kick up a fuss about things that are bound to happen anyway. I don’t figure that way … Cows get lost. Sometimes accidents happen and fellars get killed. Why get hot under the collar about it? And why go huntin’ for fellars who don’t want to be found?”
Dan Mitchell, after taking yet another kick in the shin from Rita: “What’s that for?”
Rita: “For playing target for four bucks a day.”
Dan Mitchell: “Boys, this is the way a tough street dies — not with a roar, but with a whine. You don’t want to die here with it. The tame are taking over Abilene. And they’re tougher than you think.”
Lloyd Bridges as Henry Dreiser, one of the leaders of the homesteaders in Abilene Town (1946)
Jack Lambert as Jet Younger, hired gun for the lawless faction in Abilene Town (1946)
Howard Freeman as Ed Balder, owner of the general store and Sherry’s dad in Abilene Town (1946)
Edgar Buchanan as Bravo Trimble and Helen Boyce as Big Annie in Abilene Town (1946)
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