Return of the Frontiersman (1950) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

Gordon MacRae is Logan Barrett, a sheriff’s son with a poor sense of timing.

His father has him thrown in jail for 10 days after a barroom brawl with a man named Kearney.

On his ride home after his sentence ends, Barrett passes by Kearney’s home. Just then, shots ring out. Moments later, he’s found kneeling over Kearney’s body, a gun in his hand.

Hauled back to jail on a murder charge by his father, Barrett gets a chance to clear his name when a good friend named Larrabee (Rory Calhoun) slips him a gun so he can escape.

But he escapes right into the middle of a bank robbery. In fact, it’s a bank robbery in which one of the bandits is dressed like him and riding a pinto similar to his own.

Wounded in the shoulder, he makes his way to the doctor’s house for treatment, then takes the doc’s pretty daughter Janie Martin (Julie London) hostage to ensure a safe trip out of town.

She doesn’t believe his tale of innocence. At least not until they both witness a stage holdup. Again, one of the bandits is dressed like Logan Barrett and riding a horse like Logan Barrett’s.

Clearly, someone is out to frame the sheriff’s son. And attempting to get rich in the process.

Gordon MacRae as Logan Barrett, looking for treatment for his gunshot wound in Return of the Frontiersman (1950)

Julie London as Janie Martin, her sleep interrupted by a wounded Logan Barrett (Gordon MacRae) in Return of the Frontiersman (1950)

Review:

This marked the first top-billed role for singer-actor Gordon McRae, who sings two songs early in the film and would go on to star in the musicals “Oklahoma” (1955) and “Carousel” (1956).

And it’s an action-packed Western, with some especially well-filmed fistfights. That helps mask some implausibilities in the script and a final twist that doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense.

Julie London makes for a spunky doctor’s daughter who traveled all the way from St. Louis on her own and who has to be tied up by Logan so she doesn’t stray during the night.

The film also benefits from a solid performance from former silent Western star Jack Holt. He plays Sheriff Sam Barrett, a man determined to do his duty even if it means bringing his own son to justice.

It turned out to be one of his final films. Holt died of a heart attack in January 1951 at age 62.

As for this film, just one question: Who is the returning frontiersman?

Fred Clark as Ryan, a critic of Sheriff Sam Barrett (Jack Holt) debates him over the pursuit of his son Logan in Return of the Frontiersman (1950)

Rory Calhoun as Larrabee, the newspaperman who springs Logan Barrett (Gordon MacRae) out of jail in Return of the Frontiersman (1950)

Directed by:
Richard Bare

Cast:
Gordon MacRae … Logan Barrett
Julie London … Janie Martin
Rory Calhoun … Larrabee
Jack Holt … Sheriff Sam Barrett
Fred Clark … Ryan
Edwin Rand … Kearney
Raymond Bond … Dr. J.A. Martin
John Doucette … Evans
Matt McHugh … Deputy Harvey
Britt Wood … Barney
Dan White … Nicol

Runtime: 74 min.

Edwin Rand as Kearney, the man Logan Barett feuds with and is then accused of murdering in Return of the Frontiersman (1950)

Raymond Bond (right) as Dr. J.A. Martin, worried about his kidnapped daughter with Sheriff Sam Barrett (Jack Holt) in Return of the Frontiersman (1950)

Memorable lines:

Dr. J.A. Martin to Logan Barrett, demanding treatment for a wound at gunpoint: “You can’t threaten me. I’ an old man. Too old to be afraid of a gun.”

Logan Barrett to Janie Martin, when a man named Evans takes her flirting, designed as a distraction, a bit too seriously and she calls for him: “Hmm, maybe I’m getting somewhere. Lady seems to think I’m the lesser of two evils.”

Dr. J.A. Martin, who’s daughter has been taken hostage by Logan Barrett: “I don’t understand.”
Sheriff Sam Barrett, Logan’s father, responsible for tracking him down and bringing him in: “Don’t try, Doc. I find it easier if you don’t try to understand.”

Larrabee, to the on-the-run Logan: “Logan, we’ve got to do something quick.”
Logan Barrett: “Hear anything that could help?”
Larrabee: “Everything I heard seemed so bad for you, I stopped listening.”

Logan Barrett, reunited with his former hostage after his name is cleared: “You know, I’d hate to have to tie you up again.”
Janie Martin: “I don’t think that will be necessary.”