Richard Dix is Stephen Bent, a railroad man bent on taking the tracks of the Mississippi Central westward. But he faces opposition in the form of Jeptha Marr, who has built a profitable freight business he wants to leave to his daughter and sees the railroad as the potential ruin of that venture.
So Bent decides there must be another way to get at Marr, perhaps through his daughter Vinnie (Jane Wyatt), who is returning West from St. Louis. His interest in her is at first merely a business plot. Of course, it quickly becomes more than that.
That earns Bent a new enemy, at least at first. You see, Gideon Skene had planned to marry Vinnie and doesn’t appreciate another man turning her head. But soon, Bent, Gideon and everyone else have a bigger worry — a wanna-be railroad tycoon named Champ Clanton (Victor Jory) who will do anything to stop the Mississippi Central’s progress and who finds a willing ally in Jeptha Marr … until he goes too far.
Review:
Richard Dix’s career stretched back to the silent era, but he gained fame in Cimarron (1931), an early talkie, and found himself in Westers quite frequently from that point on. This actually marked one of his last Westerns; “The Kansan” was also released in 1943, when Dix was in his mid-40s.
Unfortunately, this is pretty predictable from the word go. Of course, Vinnie and Bent fall for one another. One unusual complication is that Bent is getting much of his financing from a pretty businesswoman named Rita Molyneaux, arousing Vinnie’s jealousy. Have no fear: That works itself out during a silly talk the two have during the climatic final gun battle.
The film also features several actors who would later become Western fixtures, including Albert Dekker, Lee J. Cobb and Victor Jory.
Directed by:
Lesley Selander
Cast:
Richard Dix … Stephen Bent
Jane Wyatt … Vinnie Marr
Albert Dekker … Gideon Skene
Lee J. Cobb … Jeptha Marr
Victor Jory … Champ Clanton
Lola Lane … Rita Molyneaux
Max Baer … Tiny
Joe Sawyer … Brannigan
Harry Allen … McWhinny
Francis McDonald … Duval
Bill Nestel … Whiskers
Runtime: 76 min.
Memorable lines:
Jeptha Marr: “Just a minute, Bent. About seeing more of us. Don’t go out of your way. The town’s pretty crowded.”
Stephen Bent: “You don’t seem very hospitable, Mr. Marr.”
Marr: “I didn’t intend to.”
Marr, to the townsfolk: “Why the railroad’s an octopus. And men like Bent who build it are parasites who live off your blood and sweat.”
Stephen Bent: “How was the trip?”
Rita Molyneaux: “”Fine, except for the calluses on my back and the calluses on my hips and the calluses on my …
Stephen Bent: “I warned you in Topeka.”
){kind=link}