Fighting Man of the Plains (1949)

Former bandit Jim Dancer becomes marshal of a Kansas town and cleans up the criminal element - with the help of his old pal, Jesse James.

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writers:

Frank Gruber (story), Frank Gruber (novel)

Stars:

Randolph Scott, Bill Williams, Victor Jory

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Randolph Scott	...	Jim Dancer
Bill Williams	...	Johnny Tancred
Victor Jory	...	Dave Oldham
Jane Nigh	...	Florence Peel
Douglas Kennedy	...	Ken Vedder
Joan Taylor	...	Evelyn Slocum
Berry Kroeger	...	Cliff Bailey
Rhys Williams	...	Chandler Leach
Barry Kelley	...	Slocum
James Todd	...	Hobson
Paul Fix	...	Yancey
James Millican	...	Cummings
Burk Symon	...	Meeker
Dale Robertson	...	Jesse James
Herbert Rawlinson	...	Lawyer

Storyline

In August, 1863, Jim Dancer, searching for the killer of his brother, rides with Quantrell's raiders against Lawrence, Kansas. Yancey, one of the guerrillas most responsible for the band's bad name and reputation, accosts Evelyn Slocom. Yancey tell Dancer that Evelyn's father is the man who killed Dancer's brother, and Dancer takes revenge by killing him. But the man he is searching for is really the dead ma;s brother, Bert Slocum. When the Civil War ends in 1865, Dancer becomes a fugitive, hunted by Slocum and George Cummings, a detective for the Pleasanton Agency. Cummings finally catches Dancer, and it is only then that Dancer learns he killed the wrong man. While crossing the river on a makeshift ferry, Cummings is accidentally killed. When they are found, Dancer introduces himself as Cummings, saying the dead man was Jim Dancer. As Cummings, Dancer becomes a track-worker at Lanyard, Kansas. While the town is celebrating the arrival of the first cattle-drive herd from Texas, one ...

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Plot Keywords:

marshal | kansas | killer | fugitive | killing | 

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Taglines:

WHWN FIRE AND FURY TURNED THE WEST INTO A BULLET-SWEPT BATTLEGROUND!...THE STORY OF FIGHTING JIM DANCER, RENEGADE --- WHO BROUGHT LAW TO THE GREAT PLAINS (original poster - all caps)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance | War | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Stadt der rauhen Männer

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nat Holt Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 80 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Cinecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Dale Robertson.

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Soundtracks

"Darling Nelly Gray"
(uncredited)
Written by Benjamin Russell Hanby
Arranged by Paul Sawtell

User Reviews

This is one of my favorite Randolph Scott films partly because of the setting in the Civil War and cow town periods of Kansas' history and the plot which concerns a man's efforts to atone for his actions as

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.