Carson City *** (1952, Randolph Scott, Lucille Norman, Raymond Massey) – Classic Movie Review 6595

Director André de Toth’s 1952 Western Carson City stars Raymond Massey as its gentleman villain, Big Jack Davis, the wicked Virginian financier who tries to stop the tough hero, engineer Silent Jeff Kincaid (Scott) from building an essential railroad to Carson City.

It is essential because stage coach robber bandits are stealing gold and silver shipments from Carson City to Virginia City, and banker William Sharon (Larry Keating) doesn’t like it, so he calls in Jeff to build a railroad. But Big Jack is backing the bandits.

Meanwhile, Jeff romances Susan Mitchell (Lucille Norman), the daughter of the local newspaper publisher, Zeke Mitchell (Don Beddoe), who has briefly accused Jeff of a killing he has been framed for. Kincaid’s half brother Alan (Richard Webb) works for the paper, and he and Jeff soon become rivals for Susan.

Moments of humour and action, as well as the two involving star turns of Scott and Massey, boost a very competent Western, with a familiar story that retreads the old ground to fair effect in the screenplay by Sloan Nibley (also story) and Winston Miller.

The romance falls flat but otherwise director de Toth understands what to do with the mood and tempo – keep them bright and lively – and pulls that off with a bit of style too.

Carson City is shot by John W Boyle, produced by David Weisbart and Bryan Foy, and scored by David Buttolph, with Art Direction by Stanley Fleischer. ‘Warner Bros roaring story of Nevada’s Border-War’ is their first film shot in WarnerColor.

Also in the cast are James Millican, George Cleveland, William Haade, Thurston Hall and Vince Barnett.

It was shot at the Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles; Bell Ranch, Santa Susana, California; and Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park, Los Angeles.

Stock footage from Carson City (1952) is used at the start of de Toth’s own The Bounty Hunter (1954), also with Scott.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6595

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