Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957)

In Medicine Bend, a crooked businessman has the town mayor and sheriff in his pocket while his henchmen raid the wagon trains passing through the region.

Director:

Richard L. Bare

Writers:

John Tucker Battle, D.D. Beauchamp

Stars:

Randolph Scott, James Craig, Angie Dickinson

Cast

Cast overview:
Randolph Scott	...	Capt. Buck Devlin
James Craig	...	Ep Clark
Angie Dickinson	...	Priscilla King
Dani Crayne	...	Nell Garrison
James Garner	...	Sgt. John Maitland
Gordon Jones	...	Pvt. Wilbur 'Will' Clegg
Trevor Bardette	...	Sheriff Bob Massey
Don Beddoe	...	Mayor Sam Pelley
Myron Healey	...	Rafe Sanders
John Alderson	...	Clyde Walters
Harry Harvey	...	Elam King (as Harry Harvey Sr.)
Robert Warwick	...	Brother Abraham

Storyline

Army veterans, just mustered out of the service, are going to the one of the men's brothers ranch on their way West. Just as they arrive, Indians attack the ranch and kill the brother. The brother was killed because he was using faulty ammunition that did not fire. Buck Devlin, whose brother was killed, musters out of the service with pals John and Wilbur and vows to find the men responsible for the crime.

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Plot Keywords:

brother | indian | town mayor | faulty ammunition | sheriff | 

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Taglines:

He called himself the 'Preacher'...and he wrote his sermon in lead!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Indian attack sequence of the script had to be written to accommodate James Garner's limp after he sprained his right ankle during shooting.

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Soundtracks

Kiss Me Quick
Music by Ray Heindorf
Lyrics by Wayne Shanklin
Sung by Dani Crayne

User Reviews

Poor Scott western, and he seems to know it

"Shootout at Medicine Band"--the title shootout of which doesn't occur until the film's almost over--is a flat, dull, by-the-numbers western and Scott's last for Warner Brothers, where he made some of his best ones. Scott seems to have some idea of what a dog this picture is, as it's plain to see that his heart isn't in it and he basically sleepwalks his way through it. Can't blame him, though. Even a supporting cast of familiar western faces--Trevor Bardette, Harry Lauter, Harry Harvey, among others--can't make up for the inept direction, hackneyed and predictable script and feeble attempts at comic relief in the form of Gordon Jones, a good character actor who does much better in actual comedies ("The Abbott & Costello Show", "My Sister Eileen", "McLintock", among others) and is badly miscast. James Garner and Angie Dickinson do well enough in early roles, but while blonde dance-hall girl Dani Crayne--better known later on as the widow of David Janssen--is absolutely gorgeous, she's not much of an actress, which doesn't really matter since she's not given much to do except look great (which she does well), warble a song (which she doesn't do well) and wind up with James Garner.

All in all, this is one of Scott's lesser--much lesser--westerns and worth a look only if you're a Randolph Scott fan and have never seen it before. That's why I watched it, and I was sadly disappointed at its low quality. If you're a Scott fan you no doubt will be, too.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Marshal of Independence

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1