source: Abilene

Abilene Town

this western/musical/comedy is not one of the best of the genre i have seen.i found it much too slow.it just plodded along to the inevitable end.i also found it disjointed.i couldn't wait for it to be over.Randolph Scott is the headliner here,and Lloyd Bridges also stars.but for my money money Edgar Buchanan is the best of the bunch.Buchanan appeared in many westerns in his day,many times providing comic relief,as he does in this picture.i also liked Ann Dvorak as Rita.otherwise,though,i can't think of much to recommend this movie.the movie is based on a novel by Ernest Haycock,who also wrote the novel Stagecoach,which was mad into a movie of the same name in 1939,and remade in 1966 and again in 1986.The 1939 version of Stagecoach,is in my mind,one of the best movies ever made.anyway.as for Abilene town,my vote is a 3/10

Uncompromising town Marshall Randolph Scott attempts to get to the bottom of a terror campaign against peaceful homesteaders who've settled on government land used by cattlemen in the plains around Abiline, Kansas. Scott gives an appropriately stern performance in this low-budget independent production, but this just isn't as good as his color studio westerns he made in the following decade. The script is intelligent but a bit too talky, failing to ignite any real fireworks until near the end. Cowardly Sheriff Edger Buchanan and Lloyd Bridges as a heroic farmer give adequate support, but villainous Jack Lambert is a real standout. Ann Dvorak's incredibly leggy costumes are a real treat.

In the years following the Civil War, the town of Abilene, Kansas is poised on the brink of an explosive confrontation. A line has been drawn down the center of the town where the homesteaders and the cattlemen have come to a very uneasy truce. The delicate peace is inadvertently shattered when a group of new homesteaders lay down their stakes on the cattlemen's side of town. They upset the delicate balance that had existed thus far and spark an all-out war between the farmers, who want the land tamed and property lines drawn, and the cowboys, who want the prairies to be open for their cattle to roam. Watchable despite the poor print and that Lloyd bridges was better under the water than on a horse.

A righteous sheriff finds himself in the pinch when there is hostility against homesteaders. He urges his fellow villagers to choose sides and to help him end the conflict. Decent old-school western. Every cliché is there: from the fierce shootouts to the merry can-can dancers; from the stubborn but righteous sheriff to the crooks stirring up things in town. It's not as harsh as we're used to since Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinah and the boundary between right and wrong is pretty clear from the start. But I liked it as a fan of the western. It's not a classic in any way, but still a decent flick to see if you like the genre.

It's 1870 in the town of Abilene, Kansas. Rowdy cattlemen have arrived and Marshall Dan Mitchell (Randolph Scott) has a difficult job keeping the peace. Rita is the dance hall girl with a heart of gold. Cowboy Ryker vows to tear the town apart. Ed Balder is the store owner who wants Mitchell to compromise. Ed's daughter Sherry supports the Marshall. Sheriff Bravo Trimble who is responsible for the county is unwilling to do much. The arrival of new homesteaders led by Henry Deiser (Lloyd Bridges) only adds to the troubles. This is an old fashion western that has every bit of traditional western clichés. Ranolph Scott is the king of the westerns and is a rock in the movie. There isn't anything especially original but it all works. All that is missing are the Indians.

Randolph Scott (1898-1987) plays the Marshall Dan Mitchell who tries to keep things peaceful in town.Edgar Buchanan (1903-1979) plays the sheriff Bravo Trimble who rather gambles than shoots. Lloyd Bridges (1913-1998) can be seen as Henry Dreiser.And sure there are also some pretty ladies involved.Abilene Town from 1946 is a nice old western with great actors.There are some brilliant scenes in the movie.I recommend Abilene Town for all of you who like old black and white western movies.Or if you just don't have anything better to do.