Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.
Acensbart Excellent but underrated film
Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
drystyx There is a lot going for this Western.Randolph Scott, of course, is one thing that stands out in any Western.But this one is extra clever. At first, the viewer feels it's going to be pretty mushy, but we're given surprise after surprise. There is actually a lot of cleverness in this plot, and it actually becomes very credible, even for this era, and certainly more credible than the ridiculous spaghetti westerns of the sixties and seventies.The wit and banter is great. This is one of Edgar Buchanan's shining roles. And the women are the ones who save the day. There are three focal women who become more and more important during the story. There's the older lady who truly becomes the catapult to make things work, there's the gorgeous girl singing in a church next to Randolph (but later it is Lloyd Bridges we realize who will get her), and there is the relatively plain dance hall girl who does have a great pair of legs. Each of them does their part to make things work.But it is the cleverness of the story that in amazing. There is bloodshed, but it is believable bloodshed. All that happens is very credible, and Scott's character is very crafty.What is most "original" and ground breaking, and even "risk taking" is that this movie shows three women performing heroine heroics that actually outdo the three males they are linked to. And in the end, Edgar gets the brave old lady, Lloyd gets the gorgeous girl, and Randolph get "Legs" in stage play style.
FightingWesterner Uncompromising town Marshall Randolph Scott attempts to get to the bottom of a terror campaign against peaceful homesteaders who've settled on government land used by cattlemen in the plains around Abiline, Kansas.Scott gives an appropriately stern performance in this low-budget independent production, but this just isn't as good as his color studio westerns he made in the following decade.The script is intelligent but a bit too talky, failing to ignite any real fireworks until near the end.Cowardly Sheriff Edger Buchanan and Lloyd Bridges as a heroic farmer give adequate support, but villainous Jack Lambert is a real standout.Ann Dvorak's incredibly leggy costumes are a real treat.
JohnHowardReid A minor western classic, detailing the conflict between cattle men and homesteaders in Abilene, Kansas, in the 1870s, Abilene Town has much to commend it, not the least of which is the superb black-and-white cinematography by Archie J. Stout. One of the chief beneficiaries of Stout's fine work is Ann Dvorak, who has never looked more attractive than she does here. Her singing is a treat too, as she renders three or four saucy songs with admirable vitality, backed up by Sammy Lee's chorus girls.Scott is more than his usual competent self. In fact he gives one of the best performances of his career. Forced to straddle both sides of the fence, the marshal's sympathies are clearly with the raucous cowboys rather than the calculating merchants or the scruffy homesteaders. The interesting thing is that the script obviously favors the "good" people, but Scott brilliantly plays against the screenplay, his carefully controlled poker face revealing to the audience with just an occasional fleeting expression, a glance, a gesture, which side he favors in his heart, and his inner conflict that forces him to fight on the side that he knows will survive. Scott's adversaries on the "wrong" side of the street are forcefully played by Richard Hale, Jack Lambert and Dick Curtis. On the right side, he has to contend with Howard Freeman, Rhonda Fleming and Lloyd Bridges. Finally, he is forced to watch "his" Abilene self-destruct. "This is how a tough town diesnot with a roar, but with a whine."
Petri Pelkonen Randolph Scott (1898-1987) plays the Marshall Dan Mitchell who tries to keep things peaceful in town.Edgar Buchanan (1903-1979) plays the sheriff Bravo Trimble who rather gambles than shoots. Lloyd Bridges (1913-1998) can be seen as Henry Dreiser.And sure there are also some pretty ladies involved.Abilene Town from 1946 is a nice old western with great actors.There are some brilliant scenes in the movie.I recommend Abilene Town for all of you who like old black and white western movies.Or if you just don't have anything better to do.
