Fighting Man of the Plains

Although I only saw this film once (when it was released 50 years ago), it is one of my favorite Randolph Scott westerns. The combination of a turbulent setting (Quantrill's murderous raid on Lawrenceville, Kansas, and post Civil War Kansas ) and the main character's efforts to atone for his wartime actions by keeping the peace in a violence prone Kansas cow town rank it even with or better than Scott's later films directed by the acclaimed director, Budd Boetticher.

After a fast start, this western settles into what amounts to a plot-heavy gab fest. I'm afraid fans expecting hard-riding, fast-shooting, or scenic horizons, are going to be disappointed. Not that everything is downside. No western with the great Randy Scott can be overlooked; also, perennial bad guy Victor Jory gets to essay a good guy, for a change. And, I really like Bill Williams as a boyishly unlikely gunsel. Then add pudgy, squinty-eyed Barry Kelley as the lead black hat, and it's a fine cast.

Too bad indie producer Nat Holt apparently spent everything on casting since it left him little for filming outside of studio sets. This results in a basically 'indoor' western with some action in the streets. Maybe that's the result of adapting Gruber's novel to the screen and leaving little out. So you may need a scorecard to keep up with all the characters and plot developments.

One thing to notice— how county officials are really being shown as in on the graft. I love that scene where justice of the peace (Williams) gouges penalty money out of anyone who dares speak up and then splits it up with his cronies. That's certainly no western cliché. All in all, the movie's long on complex story but short on traditional outdoor visuals. Still, even here, no one looks more the western hero than the iron-jawed Scott.

Randolph Scott plays a bit of a poacher-cum-gamekeeper in this western adventure. Here, he ("Dancer") starts off riding with the infamous Capt. Quantrill during the American Civil War. He is misled by his cohort "Yancey" (Paul Fix) into believing that an old man they encounter in Kansas killed his father, so he does for him too. It soon turns out, though, that it was the deceased man's brother that did the deed, and by now "Dancer" is being sought by the authorities. When he is apprehended, serendipity take a fateful hand as his captor is accentually killed and he assumes his identity, Next thing, he's a town marshal and a battle royal is shaping up between his new found friends and his old protagonist "Slocum" (Barry Kelley). The sequential nature of the story telling keeps the action coming thick and fast, and Scott does an adequate job. The rest of the cast are neither here nor there, though - especially the really rather lacklustre Jane Nigh ("Florence") and an oddly un-menacing "Tancred" (Bill Williams). Still, its almost bang on 90 minutes, and makes for a perfectly watchable western feature with plenty going on.

In Fighting Man of the Plains Randolph Scott is a former member of Quantrill's Raiders who kills Barry Kelley's brother during the Civil War and Kelley is hot to get him. He privately hires the Pleasanton (Pinkerton) Detective Agency to track him down. Pleasanton man James Millican does succeed in capturing Scott after several years.

But a funny thing happens on the way back. Millican gets himself killed and Scott takes his identity. As a Pleasanton Man with law enforcement experience and being fast on the draw in any event, he's a natural to bring some law and order to the new trail town of Lanyerd, Kansas. Of course Randy gets himself hip deep in the various political factions and even runs across his old enemy, Barry Kelley.

It's a rather complex situation, but the writers did come up with an interesting resolution of the plot for Randy. It does involve Scott having good friends in low places.

Fighting Man of the Plains was the first film where Dale Robertson got noticed and Dale plays real life Quantrill veteran Jesse James. You could tell that Dale was going to have a substantial career.

Best performance in the film however without a doubt is that of Bill Williams of young on the prod gunfighter in Kelley's employ. He proves a bit too much for Kelley to handle.

Victor Jory appeared in many post war Randolph Scott films usually as a bad guy. It was unusual to see him as Scott's friend in this film. I also enjoyed Rhys Williams as the moneygrubbing justice of the peace.

Fighting Man of the Plains is one of Randolph Scott's better post World War II westerns. Don't miss it if broadcast again.

An unusual, slightly quirky Randolph Scott western with Scott playing a reformed outlaw keeping the peace with more amiable roles than usual for Victor Jory and Berry Kroger, and Jane Nigh as a rather equivocal female lead. There are also brief appearances by Dale Robertson with an introducing credit as Jesse James and James Griffith making an even briefer appearance in the opening scene as the despicable William Clarke Quantrill.