Fighting Man of the Plains *** (1949, Randolph Scott, Bill Williams, Victor Jory) – Classic Movie Review 8637

Though nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary, director Edwin L Marin’s 1949 movie Fighting Man of the Plains is a good, solid action Western. Frank Gruber writes the screenplay, based on his novel.

Randolph Scott stars as Fighting Man of the Plains, a former member of Quantrill’s Raiders who kills an unarmed innocent man he wrongly thinks has murdered his brother, and then he becomes a Kansas marshal.

As lawman Jim Dancer, Scott gets the famous outlaw Jesse James (played Dale Robertson, later star of TV’s 1957-1962 Tales of Wells Fargo) to help him drive out a gang of bad guys, led by a greedy rancher, Slocum (Barry Kelley).

The main assets it comes with are Marin’s steady, brisk and thoroughly professional handling, a steadfast Scott star performance, Robertson notable in his first big credited role and a sterling cast of character actors.

Also in the cast are Bill Williams, Victor Jory, Jane Nigh, Douglas Kennedy, Dale Robertson, Berry Kroeger, Rhys Williams, Barry Kelley, James Todd, James Millican, James Griffith, James Harrison, Paul Fix, J Farrell MacDonald, Cliff Clark and Harry Cheshire.

It was originally shot in Cinecolor but re-released in black and white. It runs 94 minutes, or 80 minutes in the cut version.

Fighting Man of the Plains is directed by Edwin L Marin, runs 94 minutes, or 80 minutes, is made by Nat Holt Productions, is released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Frank Gruber, based on his novel, is shot in Cinecolor by Fred Jackman Jr, is produced by Nat Holt and is scored by Paul Sawtell.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8637

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com