Fort Worth (1951)

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writer:

John Twist (writer)

Release Date:

14 July 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

When the Lone Star Sate was split wide open---he linked it together with lead!

Plot:

An ex-gunfighter who now runs his small town's newspaper fears that he might have to take up his guns again when a gang of outlaws rides into town, intent on taking over. |

Plot Keywords:

Gun | Small Town | Newspaper | Outlaw | Fort Worth Texas

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Ned Britt
David Brian	...	Blair Lunsford
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Flora Talbot
Helena Carter	...	Amy Brooks
Dickie Jones	...	Luther Wicks (as Dick Jones)
Ray Teal	...	Gabe Clevenger
Michael Tolan	...	Mort Springer (as Lawrence Tolan)
Paul Picerni	...	Joe Castro
Emerson Treacy	...	Ben Garvin
Bob Steele	...	Shorty
Walter Sande	...	Deputy Waller
Chubby Johnson	...	Sheriff

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Dijon Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

3 train scenes taken directly from Dodge City (1939) - the race with the horse-driven stagecoach along the tracks; the burning carriage and subsequent escape on horseback; the triumphal arrival of the train in town, right at the end.

The Pen is Mightier Than The Six Gun!

"Fort Worth" is another of those fast moving 80 minute westerns that Randolph Scott turned out in the 1950s.

Scott plays Ned Britt a newspaperman who has laid down his guns in favor of the pen. With his partner Ben Garvin (Emerson Treacy) and assistant Luther Wick (Dick Jones), he is going to San Antone to open a newspaper. Along the way, an old flame, Flora Talbot (Phyllis Thaxter) joins the wagon train. We learn that she plans to marry Britt's old pal Blair Lunsford (David Brian) in the town of Fort Worth.

Gabe Clevenger (Ray Teal) and his gang of cattle thieves hear of Britt's return. One of his thugs (Zon Murray) starts a stampede when he tries to goad Britt into a fight. In the stampede, a young boy Toby Nickerson (Pat Mitchell) is killed. Stopping off in Fort Worth, Lunsford convinces Britt to start his paper in Fort Worth as the railroad is coming and the town will prosper as a result.

Britt learns that Lunsford has been acquiring land around the town dirt cheap and suspects that he is in league with Clevenger. When Garvin is murdered by Clevenger assassin Castro (Paul Picerni), he straps on the sheriff's guns and takes out the killers.

It turns out that Lunsford is not in cahoots with Clevenger but has aspirations to become governor. Britt intends to stop him. This leads to the final showdown and..........................................

As in most of Scott's westerns, his is supported by a fine cast of veteran players. In addition to those already mentioned, the cast includes, Michael (billed as "Lawrence" here) Tolan, Bob Steele and Kermit Maynard as Clevenger hench men, Chubby Johnson as the spineless sheriff, Walter Sande as his deputy, Helena Carter as Amy Brooks, Lunsford's ex flame and Bud Osborne as what else, a stagecoach driver.

A not great but nonetheless enjoyable western.