John Chard
May 11, 2019
7/10
Every citizen is a peace officer when the peace is violated. This is a free country by statute.
Trail Street is directed by Ray Enright and adapted to screenplay by Norman Houston and Gene Lewis from the novel of the same name written by William Corcoran. It stars Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George Hayes, Madge Meredith and Steve Brodie. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by J. Roy Hunt.
Bat Masterson (Scott) is called to the town of Liberal in Kansas to act as Marshal because a range war has erupted.
It's the trail riders versus the farmers with Bat Masterson in the middle, perfect for Randy Scott then. Trail Street is a very honest Oater, sturdy of formula and played for genre compliant rewards. Clearly of no historical worth, mind, it's however a further reminder about one of the "names" that stand through the test of time from the Old West.The land war as a central plot device is always fascinating, for the two sides of the argument angle keeps things on the high heat. In the mix here comes corruption, romantic sub-plots (with 2 ladies of different social standings) and of course law and order as a force of nature.
Ultimately it's good fun entertainment, the cast themselves seemingly enjoying their respective parts and working for this director. Hayes brings the froth, Brodie the slimy menace, and the girls are not just token fodder. Scott isn't in it as much as we would like, but once arriving in town he dominates with genre gracefulness in what was soon to become his total career pathway. While Ryan is wonderfully fresh faced and lights up his scenes with distinction.
Enright has a good feel for character development, and when the pic begins to sag he pulls it back on track with a nifty action sequence. Rounding out the tech credits we have Hunt's (Crossfire) photography, which is spiffing and marries up smartly with the visual themes that Enright favours, while Sawtell keeps it safe and standard for aural pleasure. The ending is worth waiting for, with guns a toting and stunt men a falling from a high, and a very dark act is carried out to set us up for a boffo finale.
This is hardly a must see or must have in your Westerns collection, but it's above average and has an unassuming feel that's most pleasing for the genre faithful. 7/10
