''Trail Street'' is a 1947 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of Joa ...

and starring

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, come ...

, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys and George "Gabby" Hayes. Based on the novel ''Golden Horizons'' by William Corcoran, and a screenplay by Norman Houston and Gene Lewis, the film is about the legendary

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was bo ...

who brings law and order to the town of Liberal,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, and defends the local farmers against a murderous cattle baron. Filmed on location in Agoura,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, at the Andy Jauregui Ranch in Newhall, California, and at the Encino Ranch of

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

. The film made a profit of $365,000.Jewell, Richard, and Vernon Harbin. ''The RKO Story''.

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

: Arlington House, 1982. p. 218.

Plot

The town of Liberal in southwestern Kansas needs the help of a lawman; so does the law-abiding land agent Allen Harper. Eager to help, stable keeper Billy Burns sends for his longtime friend, the legendary Bat Masterson. Allen's sweetheart, Susan Pritchard, is pursued by Logan Maury, a corrupt cattle baron. Hired gun Lance Larkin, who works for Maury, beats up a farmer and has a fist fight with Harper until Bat arrives and throws Larkin in jail. Bat is appointed the town's marshal and appoints Billy as his deputy. Ruby Stone, a saloon singer in love with Maury, tries to keep him away from good girl Susan. When a farmer is murdered, Allen is framed and faces a lynch mob. Ruby ends up betraying Maury who shoots her in the back. Maury's own men are offended by the death of Ruby and block his escape. Bat fires, killing Maury. Allen can now marry Susan, while the town makes Billy the new marshal as Bat rides away to become a journalist back East.

Cast

as Bat Masterson * Robert Ryan as Allen Harper * Anne Jeffreys as Ruby Stone * George "Gabby" Hayes as Billy Burns * Madge Meredith as Susan Pritchett * Steve Brodie as Logan Maury * Billy House as Carmody * Virginia Sale as Hannah * Harry Woods as Lance Larkin * Phil Warren as Slim * Harry Harvey as Mayor * Jason Robards, Sr. as Jason (as Jason Robards)

Production

The screenplay for ''Trail Street'' was written by Norman Houston and Gene Lewis, based on a novel by William Corcoran that was published as a serial in ''Cosmopolitan'' under the title ''Trail Street''. According to a news item in the ''Hollywood Reporter'', Barbara Hale and Lawrence Tierney were originally cast in the leading roles. According to the August 1946 edition of ''Hollywood Reporter'', five hundred extras were hired for the fight scene between the farmers and the trail riders.

Reception

In his 1947 review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Bosley Crowther wrote that ''Trail Street'' was "no better nor worse than most of the rest” of Westerns about Bat Masterson. Crowther continued: In his review, Mike Grost wrote that although the film was no masterpiece, ''Trail Street'' contains "fresh visual thinking" and shows "graceful mise-en-scène". Grost continued:

References

External links