Comanche Station

I watched "Blazing Saddles" a few weeks ago and had completely forgotten about that quick melodic tribute to Randolph Scott sung by the townspeople in a reverent tone. It was the Randolph Scott of "Comanche Station" they were memorializing, the stoic Western cowboy trying to do the right thing in a lawless land. Once again events conspire to avert him from the primary mission of finding his wife, kidnapped ten years earlier and presumably dead. Cody's (Scott) response to Nancy Lowe (Nancy Gates) when she questions him about her fate with the Comanches show him to be a man of principle and integrity, well before we learn of his true quest. Even the film's outlaws maintain a certain respect for Cody, with Ben Lane (Claude Akins) sharing a tarnished past with his former military officer. The stage is set early for their eventual show down, and then it's a matter of time until one or the other suffers a misstep. The story deals with Lane's two young gun companions first, portrayed by Skip Homeier and Richard Rust. The movie's best serious conversations involve Frank and Dobie talking about 'amountin' to somethin' and 'honest work'. The movie is gorgeously rendered amid the rugged beauty of California's Lone Pine country, at times I felt caught up in the scenery at the expense of the story. Attention is brought back quickly though by Indian attacks and Ben Lane's impending confrontation with Cody. Although you never doubt the success of Cody's mission, the unexpected twist at the finale leaves one slightly disoriented. What's not to be questioned is why Cody never brought up the issue of a reward for the return of Mrs. Lowe. It's just understood that in the end, Cody amounts to something.

While the western genre is not my favourite one of all film genres (not sure which one is my favourite due to trying to appreciate them all the same), there is a lot of appreciation for it by me. There are a lot of very good to great films, with the best work of John Ford being notable examples. 'Comanche Station' is the final collaboration of the seven films director Budd Boetticher and lead actor Randolph Scott did together in the late 50s. By all means 'Comanche Station' is not their best pairing (perhaps towards the lesser end, which is not a knock as this merely means it's only because the best of them are so great), but one can totally see the appeal of their collaborations and both Boetticher and Scott are well served, the film being a good representation of both. It is a very good note to go out on and of their films it is perhaps the most overlooked. Which is a shame because it's a very good film with many excellent elements. By all means not perfect. Nancy Gates is rather bland in a role that is rather underwritten. The film loses momentum on occasions. However, Scott is as stoic and charismatic as ever with an appealingly craggy edge, being both likeable and tough. Every bit as good is a truly menacing Claude Akins, relishing his quite meaty villainous character. The two work very effectively together and their final confrontation is one of 'Comanche Station's' high points. Boetticher's direction is efficient and lean. A big shout has to go to the production values. While there is grandeur and atmosphere to the settings it's the photography that's the star, especially in the unforgettable wordless opening sequence, one of my favourite openings of Boetticher's/Scott's films together. The music is rousing yet never intrusive and the more eventful parts blister. There is thankfully no fat or ramble to the thought-probing, tight and sharply focused script and the storytelling is brutally bleak and movingly elegiac, mostly nicely paced too. 'Comanche Station' may not have the same depth of characterisation as other Boetticher/Scott outings or character complexity, but the two lead characters are interesting and the character interaction is a major plus point numerous times. Notably with Scott and Akins in their final confrontation, which positively blisters. On the whole, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I have really enjoyed Randolph Scott's presence in films at both both bookends of his career, having previously seen him in the pre-Code 'Hot Saturday' (1932) and his last film, Sam Peckinpah's first great film, 'Ride the High Country' (1962), as well as a few in between ('Pittsburgh', 'Virginia City' and 'My Favorite Wife' most readily come to mind), so I thought it was high time to visit some of his most influential films, the Western collaborations with Budd Boetticher. Scott has a really unique presence in these films. So far, I have seen three of the seven they made together, and he doesn't romance, he seems a tortured, troubled soul, even in the almost comedic, 'Buchanan Rides Alone'. This was another excellent script by Burt Kennedy, finely scored and photographed. It was clear that this was a well-run filmic organization, that really knew what in tarnations they were doing. Rare is the film that is short but sweet. I consider this a 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' kind of movie, in that it's not too long, not too short, but just right. Though not quite as good as its predecessor, 'Ride Lonesome', I still didn't have the heart to give it a lower rating. I know the Western genre as a whole tends to get short shrift these days, but when you see the great ones, it makes you really glad somebody made them--and that Boetticher and Scott made a lot more than simply seven together.

Saw this film again tonite via the DVD, mainly because it's Scott's penultimate film. Immediately thought of similarity to Scott's The Tall T, later to Ride Lonesome and Seven Men from Now. Difference is I'd give that Elmore Leonard story a few notches on this. Claude Akins is better than just Movin On but doesn't have the menace of Richard Boone or Lee Marvin. Scenery is favored over dialogue. Lots of cutting from scene to scene to indicate time has passed. Skip Hoemeier reprises his role as number 2 gun hand to the villain (Billy Jack to Boone ). Scott is great trading with the Comanche or getting the drop on the bad guys. Lots of good but familiar dialogue- "Seemed like a good idea". He is the archetype noble cowboy true to his values and keeping his dignity, yet always practical. I like this film very much and will watch it again; I'm sure.

Comanche Station (1960) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Randolph Scott saves a woman (Nancy Gates) who was captured by Indians. Scott, wanting the reward, goes to take the woman back home but several problems pop up making the journey harder than he expected. I believe this was my fourth or fifth Boetticher/Scott film and this one here is clearly the most disappointing. That's not to say this is a bad film because it certainly isn't but it also doesn't come close to the duo's best movies. I think the biggest problem I had with the film is that it doesn't have much action drama but instead tries to build its tension in a psychological manor but I think it fails here. The entire build up deals with Scott and Gates riding with three other men and one of them plan on killing the woman (and Scott) because the award for her is dead or alive. I had a hard time believing the film would take any twist to where this would be possible so this here killed off some of the drama. Scott gives a pretty good performance here but, as with the film, we've seen better from him. Gates and the supporting players are decent but really don't stand out. The film runs a short 74-minutes and there's really not too much happening in that time. The nice 2.35:1 aspect ratio captures some beautiful scenery though.

This is the third Boetticher/Scott Western I've seen, "Ride Lonesome" and "The Tall T" are the others. So far, "Commanche Station" is the best, followed by "The Tall T", then "Ride Lonesome". What's remarkable is how similar they all are. Same leading man, same Sierra Nevada location.......same plot. I gave this movie 6 out of 10 in the IMDb rankings. It did well in my ranking system, accumulating 14 points, a very solid score. Here's what I found admirable in this movie: I don't consider Randolph Scott an "A" Western leading man, but I would put him at the top of my "B" list. Interesting and believable back story to his character also. This was filmed entirely on location. I couldn't identify a single sound stage scene. This 80 minute special was obviously filmed on a very low budget. I know of no director who has squeezed more movie out of so few resources. The scenery on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range in eerily beautiful and Boetticher uses it to maximum effect. The story has excellent dramatic tension. The characters are developed with mystery and subtlety. Unlike its earlier twin, "Ride Lonesome", there are no plot holes. Claude Akins does a tremendous job as the heavy. His character is devilishly likable. I'm going to go so far as to say I enjoyed his role more than Richard Boone's heavy in "The Tall T". There's some very good dialog, especially from Claude Akin's character. "Ma'am, if you was mine, I'd of come for you even if I'd of died in the doin' of it." A lot of stuff like that. Good Indian themes. Indians are presented multi-dimensionally i.e they actually have a reason for killing white people. Again an improvement over "Ride Lonesome". Some successfully executed subtle humor in the interplay between Aiken's two dimwitted henchmen. Another improvement over "RL". Interesting opening sequence with no dialog for five or ten minutes. Reminds me of the famed opening of "Rio Bravo", which was a Hawks tribute to silent films. "RB" was released a year before "CS". Did Boetticher copy Hawks? Now here's what kept the movie from being better: Generally I am willing to grant directors artistic license for inauthentic locations, but I don't see why they didn't just set this story in the Sierras where they were shooting it, instead of pretending they were in New Mexico. I'm not going to kill this for being a virtual remake of "Ride Lonesome", mostly because he cleaned up most of the obvious mistakes he made in the earlier film. I hate his Indian attacks. Indians did not ride around in circles and form perfect shooting galleries for well dug in white people. The soundtrack is awful.

Starts immediately, ACTION! I never saw this movie before unless I saw it when I was a kid, going to the movies every Sunday, because it's 1959 and I was 8 then but I was never that interested in westerns, until I saw Liberty Valance a few years later. Lately I've become interested in the actor Richard Rust so I started collecting all of his performances - Comanche Station is one of them. I thought that he and Claude Akins did most of the acting - I really enjoyed their performances. Randolph Scott, though he has a great face and presence, did not seem to be really acting much, though I imagine his fans would say that it's his style; in fact, maybe the perfect cowboy! Anyway, it's a short film, but full, and I was not disappointed by Rust in his second film, at the age of 20. He had his character down pat and at one point, he made me get tears in my eyes. I would recommend this film to anyone - there are fine characterizations by the actors, good scenery, action and an honesty that cannot be explained. It's a Western, maybe that's all you need to know.

This is the final film that was directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. Like their previous collaborations, they both work together to produce Westerns that manage to rise above the mediocre norm. In this film, a fairly typical plot idea is executed very well--with a grace and style that make the film well worth seeing. Randolph Scott, as usual, plays a nice but tough guy. He's brave enough to come into a Comanche stronghold in order to negotiate for the release of a White woman kidnapped by the tribe. However, trouble is in store when three drifters come upon Scott and the woman. It seems that the leader of this group (Claude Akins) is a real rogue and plans with his men to kill Scott and the woman. It seems that the woman's husband has offered a reward for her--and it can be collected dead or alive! So what did I like about the film? First, as usual, Randolph Scott is amazing. He plays the perfect cowboy hero--tough, slow to speak and anger but also a decent man through and through. Plus, he's much more believable than the bigger than life characters John Wayne usually played. I loved Wayne's films, but he was always too tough and too in command. Scott is much more like a very capable 'everyman' character. Second, as usual, Boetticher deliberately underplays the action--producing a muted but also quite believable film. Third, the film had a really nice ending--quite the twist. You can't do a lot better than a Scott/Boetticher western. While this isn't their best, it certainly is quite good.

Budd Boetticher and Randolph Scott made a bunch of westerns in the fifties that burned his image in the minds of critics and established Boetticher as some kind of genius. Cahiers du cinema were also fond of doing this, emphasizing directors who used the camera like a writer uses words to express. One is better with it than the others and the study of his compositions and use of cameras, all widely exaggerated has created the mystique. Such is the case of Nicolas Ray, samuel Fuller and ilk. But film is more than that and anybody who has ever worked on a movie, much of anything is pure circumstance in feudal necessity or exogenous stimuli or just plain landscape, layman's vocabulary. Thus, I have never much been impressed by this exalted westerns. But that said, this is a fine western to watch. Forget about the lait spiel and enjoy this human story that plays against the genre in its use of a hero who searches for his wife, finds another man's wife and has to defend her against the men who do not want to return her. The final scene is a pure humanist coda that neatly wraps up this psychological western.

A magazine article recently cited this movie as an underrated western. I certainly agree. Randolph Scott made his best westerns in the latter part of his career, and this is one of those. The movie examines the old west moral code of right v. wrong and raps up with a surprising twist ending that gives cynicism a kick in the rear end. Not a big splashy western, but a solid little one.