Trail Street (1947)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Ray Enright

Writers:

William Corcoran (novel) and
Norman Houston (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 February 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

The Liberal Kansas area is in trouble. The town is without a Marshal and the nearby farmers are unable...

Plot Keywords:

Kansas | Beautiful Woman | Based On Novel

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Marshal Bat Masterson
Robert Ryan	...	Allen
Anne Jeffreys	...	Ruby
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Deputy Billy Burns
Madge Meredith	...	Susan
Steve Brodie	...	Logan Maury
Billy House	...	Carmody
Virginia Sale	...	Hannah Weeks
Harry Woods	...	Larkin
Phil Warren	...	Slim
Harry Harvey	...	Mayor of Liberal
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Jason (as Jason Robards)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #11865) | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Agoura, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films, 1941-1950, incorrectly omits sixth credited Steve Brodie as Logan Maury, and mixes up the roles played by Billy House, Virginia Sale and Harry Woods. They are correct as listed above.

Goofs:

Continuity: Steve Brodie's mustach changes several times. One time it is solid all the way across, another time it has a 1/2" gap in the middle, and sometimes it had a peak and other times it didn't.

Quotes:

Billy Burns: You think you got some pretty tough fellas over there in Dodge City. I guess you ain't never heard of Dry Gulch Curly have you? You see, old Brandyhead Jones, he was a United States Marshal, too. He done all the hanging over in our neighborhood. And this Dry Gulch I'm telling you about -- he was so tough that when Old Brandyhead hung him, his trigger finger kept jerking for two hours after he was dead.

Soundtrack:

The Only Pebble on the Beach

Long lost Randolph Scott western slight disappointment.

Do a title search on Randolph Scott and TRAIL STREET is the one film missing from the list you've seen. One of 4 films Scott made at RKO during his prime (1947) the others are always easy to get. Liberal, Kansas is just southwest of Dodge City and is a powder-keg about to explode between the trail-riders who drive the longhorns into Trail Street, the town's main street, and the sod-busters who feed our bellies. It'll take a strong man like Bat Masterson to step between the two groups and bring the town to order. More I won't say, except that Scott movies usually have just one pretty girl and this one has three. RANDOLPH SCOTT always played men you could look up to for their sense of honor, courage, level-headedness and willingness to do the right thing. Fifty years ago parents could send their kids to a Scott movie with confidence they'd learn positive values. ROBERT RYAN co-stars in this film, playing a good guy for a change. In real life, RYAN was one of the many WORLD WAR II HEROS who starred in America's movies. How sad what we get these days. George Clooney teaches our young that we ought sympathize with suicide bombers, while Steven Spielberg teaches there is no moral difference between the Olympic athletes murdered in 1972 in Munich and the Palestinian terrorists who killed them. Hollywood 2005 derives their moral compass from too much cocaine and too much commitment to the wacky left. I wonder how all this plays out in Liberal, Kansas. Liberal, after all, was not a dirty word 150 years ago when the city was named.