Dale Robertson plays Ben Calhoun, who wins the Buffalo Pass, Scalplock and Defiance Railroad (BPS&D) in a poker game.
Thinking he’s struck it rich, he celebrates in grand style, even forking over $10,000 to buy a private railroad car built for another man.
But when he reaches his own lines at Buffalo Pass, he learns that his new railroad came with a mountain in debt — $500,000 in owed back wages alone.
He convinces his men to go back to work in exchange for stock in the railroad.
Getting the good folks in the nearby town to forgive his debt will take more than smooth talking.
But Ben Calhoun is every bit as good at conniving as he is at poker and smooth talking. Turns out, he’s pretty good with his fists too.
None of which might matter when he goes up against John Pendennis (Lloyd Bochner), who believes the railroad Calhoun is building is rightfully his.
Dale Robertson as Ben Calhoun, determined to build a railroad by hook or crook in Scalplock (1966)
Robert Random as Barnabus Rogers, Ben Calhoun’s personal assistant in Scalplock (1966)
Review:
The pilot for the Iron Horse TV series, which also starred Robertson and ran for two years (until 1968) on ABC.
Some of Ben Calhoun’s ways out getting out of jams are quite ingenius. Unfortunately, Robertson’s swaggering arrogance quickly becomes insufferable.
The ladies in the film fall for his charm though. They include Diana Hyland as Martha Grenier, who comes with the private railroad car.
Then there’s tomboyish Joanna Royce (Sandra Smith), who runs the local freighting business. Heck, her attraction to Calhoun even prompts her to wear a dress for a change.
Neither actress became a series regular.
Diana Hyland as Martha Grenier, the woman Ben Calhoun finds in a private railroad car in Scalplock (1966)
Sandra Smith as Joanna Royce, the pretty freighter with a nose for business and an eye for Calhoun in Scalplock (1966)
Directed by:
James Goldstone
Cast:
Dale Robertson … Ben Calhoun
Sandra Smith … Joanna Royce
Robert Random … Barnabus Rogers
Todd Armstrong … Dave Tarrant
James Westerfield … Nehemiah Mather
David Sheiner … Frontiersman
Diana Hyland … Martha Grenier
Lloyd Bochner … John Pendennis
John Anderson … Standish
Runtime: 80 min.
Lloyd Bochner as John Pendennis, the man determined to get Ben Calhoun’s railroad in Scalplock (1966)
John Anderson as Standish, the man whose private railroad car Ben Calhoun hijacks in Scalplock (1966)
Memorable lines:
Martha Grenier: “You’re arrogant.”
Ben Calhoun: “I’m lucky. And I’m gaining momentum.”
Martha Grenier: “Do you always travel with a circus.”
Ben Calhoun: “Sometimes. I told you it’d be an interesting ride.”
Martha Grenier, when Barnabus’s cooking leaves something to be desired: “Tomorrow, I’ll cook. It’s about time I learned.”
Ben Calhoun: “Experiment on me?”
Martha: “Um-um.”
Calhoun: “What do I get in return?”
Martha: “Dinner.”
Calhoun: “After dinner?”
Martha, smiling wide: “Indigestion.”
Joanna Royce: “If you want supplies, I’m at your service. If you want me, it’s gonna take more than a big smile and a little push.”
Standish to Ben Calhoun: “You can count on me. I’m going to do my best to cut your throat from ear to ear.”
Todd Armstrong as Dave Tarrant, Ben Calhoun’s railroad engineer in Scalplock (1966)
James Westefield as Nehemiah Mather, Ben Calhoun’s crew foreman in Scalplock (1966)
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