"Hound of the Baskerville" director Sidney Lanfield's black & white horse opera "Station West," starring Dick Powell, Jane Greer, Agnes Moorehead, and Raymond Burr, looks like a dusty little western, but otherwise it sounds like a gritty film noir thriller. Indeed, this 83-minute movie qualifies as a traditional oater, derived as it was from Luke Short's novel of the same name. Nevertheless, despite all the usual trappings of a standard issue western, "Station West" featured smart aleck dialogue seasoned with irony straight out of an urban film noir movie. Stars Dick Powell and Jane Greer had appeared in several film noir outings. Indeed, when he latter produced his 1950s TV series "Zane Grey Theater," Powell had made a name for himself in paranoid crime movies. Ultimately, "Station West" would constitute the only western Powell made during his career. Meantime, when his own theatrical career ran out of steam, Lanfield wound up helming several major television westerns, including "Rango," "Pistols and Petticoats," "Whispering Smith," "The Tall Man," "Tales of Wells Fargo," and "The Deputy." Indeed, "Station West" was Lanfield's only oater. Greer appeared in noirs such as "Out of the Past," "The Big Steal," and "They Won't Believe Me." Two years before she made "Station West," Greer had starred in "Sunset" (1946). Later, she would appear in a "Bonanza" episode, a "Stagecoach West" episode, and three episodes of Powell's "Zane Grey Theatre." Interestingly enough, Raymond Burr was cast as a corrupt attorney, too. However, this was long before he would headline the CBS-TV series "Perry Mason."
A U. S. Army lieutenant named Haven (Dick Powell of "Murder My Sweet") has been dispatched to track down several missing cavalry uniforms as well as solve the murders of two soldiers who were escorting a wagon laden with bullion. Nobody has a clue about who robbed and killed the soldiers. Haven arrives as an undercover agent to unravel the mystery. Anybody who has perused the novel "Station West" may be surprised when they watch the cinematic adaptation. First, the chief villain has undergone a gender change. Instead of Charlie being a tough guy, Charlie (Jane Greer of "The Big Steal") is now a duplicitous dame. In film noir thrillers, the duplicitous dame often topples the flawed hero because he cannot control himself around her. This was not the case with Haven. Second, scenarist Frank Fenton, who wrote a classic film noir "Out of the Past" and Winston Miller who penned "My Darling Clementine" teamed up for this sagebrusher. Each brought a different set of sensibilities to the film. Third, the novel took place in a western setting covered with ice, whereas the film is set in a scenic western landscape of Sedona, Arizona, under a blazing sun. Some characters have been deleted, and some aren't the same as they were in the novel. As Mrs. Caslon, Anges Moorehead is a mine owner, yet another female addition to the narrative who was not present in the novel. As a competing mine owner, she is in cahoots with Haven's superior officer, Captain Iles (Tom Powers of "Double Indemnity"), and Iles doesn't trust Haven. Haven sets out to blow the lid off the town when he baits Charlie's toughest hardcase, Mick (Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams of "Dodge City") in a knockdown, drag-out bout of fisticuffs. Everybody had expected Mick to whip him, but Haven surprised everybody.
Charlie decides to hire Haven to run her stagecoach line, and our hero learns how lawless the town is when he tries to smuggle some of Mrs. Caslon's bullion out. The villains are waiting for him when he fords a stream and rob the coach. Furthermore, they murder Haven's shotgun guard, James Goddard (Regis Toomey of "Guns of the Timberland"), who was a Wells Fargo agent. You can tell the Production Code was in force when "Station West" was produced. When the villains kill Goddard, you see the bad guy holding him at gunpoint. The camera shifts from a medium two-shot of the villain and the shotgun guard to just the shotgun guard, and then the guard is gunned down. Basically, you don't see the outlaw standing in the same frame with the doomed shotgun guard. Similarly, the opening shot of the movie has the camera prowling over the corpses of the two slain soldiers. We don't see them die.
Interestingly enough, the fight between Mick and Haven is quite violent for 1948, and it is surprising the filmmakers got away with it. Altogether, despite some changes from the novel, "Station West" qualifies as an offbeat but entertaining shoot'em up with sturdy cast, scenic exteriors, and lots of intrigue.
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