Fort Worth (1951)

Civil War veteran and former newspaper man Ned Britt returns back to Fort Worth after the war is over and finds himself fighting an old friend who's grown ambitious.

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writer:

John Twist

Stars:

Randolph Scott, David Brian, Phyllis Thaxter

Cast

Cast overview:
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

Storyline

Southern veteran Ned Britt returns home to Fort Worth after the Civil War with his mentor, newspaperman Ben Garvin, along with his young apprentice, in hopes of building the town into a modern metropolis. However, the area is terrorized by the ruthless Gabe Clevenger and his gang of hired guns. Britt wonders whose side his old friend Blair Lunsford is on. Lunsford has used the unrest to buy up parcels of land on the cheap and hopes to profit from this speculation after the territory is cleaned up and ultimately become governor. Britt sees through his friend's ambition, and they are alternately allies and antagonists. Britt is also distracted by girl-next-door Flora Talbott and and seductive Amy Brooks.

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Plot Keywords:

fort worth | gun | ambition | newspaper | newspaper man | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 July 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Texas Express

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

3 train scenes taken directly from Dodge City - 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.

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Quotes

Luther Wicks: [Seeing a rider approach from the distance] Whoever that be?
Ned Britt: Somebody with a taste for solitude. Texas Trail makes lonely riding for a man alone.

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Soundtracks

"I've Been Workin' on the Railroad"
(uncredited)
American folk song first published in 1894
Heard on soundtrack during parade sequence.

User Reviews

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.