The Kansan

The producing/directing team of Harry Sherman and George Archaimbaud who turned out a couple dozen Hopalong Cassidy movies moved away from Hoppy and the Bar 20 to give us The Kansan, an independent film from United Artists. This western stars Richard Dix as the Shane like character who takes a hand in stopping a bank robbery by the notorious James gang. Dix gets good and shot up for his troubles, but while he's on the mend he finds he's been elected town marshal.

Engineering his election is town banker Albert Dekker who has many interests, legal and extralegal and he'd like a gun-hand like Dix as marshal to look after those interests. Dekker has cause for regret as Dix takes the job very seriously. Dix also starts courting Jane Wyatt the local innkeeper.

That doesn't sit well with Victor Jory who is Dekker's brother. But Jory plays a lone hand in life as the film unfolds.

Dix's best years on screen were way behind him when he did The Kansan, but he could and does contribute a solid western characterization and gets solid support from the cast. Eugene Palette as a visiting cattle baron looks a bit lost in the western garb, but he works through it.

Western fans will recognize some distinct plot elements the Cecil B. DeMille classic Union Pacific. If you do you know exactly how The Kansan will end.

No need to recap the plot. Though conventional in most respects, this western does have some imaginative wrinkles. The Victor Jory character (Jeff) is a real novelty for the western format. Unlike most oaters, we can't tell where his loyalties lie. His intentions remain something of an enigma, which adds greatly to the plot since we can't be sure what he'll do next. With his unusual looks, Jory is perfectly cast. Then there's the super slick Albert Dekker who uses his extraordinary business guile instead of a six-gun to take over the town. All in all, it's a fine cast of colorful movie veterans, especially the froggish Eugene Palette.

I get the feeling someone in production was aiming for an epic scale western. Consider features like the host of extras, the big shootouts, the massive barroom free-for-all, the cattle stampede that's not all stock shots, along with the well-mounted musical numbers. The trouble is they spent all their money on big events but filmed in the very un-epic LA area scrublands, which gives the visuals a flat, pedestrian appearance. The story may be grandly conceived but the canvas is ordinary, at best. All in all, it's an interesting, slightly offbeat western.

Wild Pacing with a lot of Western Movie Ingredients Paraded out for WWII Movie Audiences. Explosives, Gun Battles with many Shooters On both sides, a Sprawling Saloon Brawl that is a Stuntman's Showcase, Cattle Stampede, and more Outlandish Outdoor Shenanigans.

The Wartime Audiences sure got Their Money's Worth with this one. An Aging Richard Dix Shows Heroics, Honor, and Precise Marksmanship, although He is Nicked by incoming Bullets at least Five Times. Albert Dekker is a Dandy Villain and Victor Jory is on hand as an Ambiguous Mysterious Player in all the doings. It's Never Certain where He Stands and that Adds a bit of Intrigue.

Jane Wyatt just Sparkles on screen and is Cute. Overall, a Rousing, Never Boring, Wide Open Western that is Entertaining. Willie Best will Certainly get Noticed as a Racial Stereotype and Comedy Relief, but is shown Respect by the "Good Guys".

Note...There is a Propaganda insertion ("When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again") as WWII was raging on, to boost morale. A musical number that was popular during the Civil War it is here delivered by leggy George Cohan types.

Note 2…The Print shown on TCM in 2015 was washed out and pretty shoddy. One assumes it is the best available. There is no contrast and it has a white-washed look. If it is the best out there, Film-Restorists-Archivists should be on the look out for better source material.

In Broken Lance, Kansas, John Bonniwell averts the Jesse James gang from holding up the town bank, but is severely wounded in the process. When he awakes in the hospital, he finds that he has been elected town marshall, with high recommendations from the bank owner and leading citizen, Steve Barat. Bonniwell accepts the job (especially after getting an eyeful of the hotel owner Eleanor Sager) even though he knows that he was only appointed to become a pawn in Barat's scheme to bleed Broken Lance, and the Kansas, dry. Bonniwell's position is put to the test when Barat sues Bonniwell's friend Waggoner for running his cattle without paying the $1 a head toll enforced by Barat. When he sees that Bonniwell isn't going to be controlled so easily, Barat has Bonniwell's enemies go after him followed by an attempt by Barat's gambling brother, Jeff (who seems to be playing both sides of the standoff, while in love with Eleanor). Bonniwell then starts to rid Broken Lance of Barat's influence without losing his life, or anyone else's, in the process. Very good western with an excellent script, direction, characterization, and performances by everyone. Dix is right at home as Bonniwell, even though he seems awkward at times. Jory gives one of his best performances as Jeff, and his characterization is very surprising and different from others in the genre. The movie also contains one of the biggest barroom free for alls in any western, with everyone getting into the fracas. Only flaw was the climax was not as action packed as other sequences in the movie, but still a winner all the way. Rating, based on B westerns (this may count as a B+ however), 9.

Any film with Richard Dix is worth a chance not only because he's a likable and powerful figure but he seemed to bounce around the edges of the studio system so that his films vary standard formulas in unpredictable ways. The Kansan's saloon sets are excellent, for instance, and the crowds well directed--other posts mention the remarkably modern dance number (with perspectival backdrops) and the extended brawl with well-choreographed sequences and character highlights. Outdoor cinematography at the toll-bridge across which several incidents of the plot transpire featured impressive depth and angle.

A big stable of acting talent also raises this film's quality, but I'll let other posters provide those kudos.

My only difference with other posters is their near-blanket condemnation of the Bones character played by the terrific William Best. Certainly most of the film's racial dynamics are regrettably stereotypical, but Dix and Best interact as two smart guys recognizing each other. The film's single best moment for me was when the Jory character enters Best's servant quarters at the Sager Hotel. When Jory walks in, the Bones character is READING, which suggests that not just Willie Best but his character knows that Bones's minstrel persona is an act. Further, when Jory leaves the room, the door swings shut to reveal a portrait of Lincoln.