Rage at Dawn (1955)

Director: Tim Whelan

Cast: Randolph Scott, Forrest Tucker, Mala Powers

Synopsis: A special agent heads West to apprehend the notorious Reno brothers.

Randy Scott (Riding Shotgun, Tall Man Riding) goes undercover to bring the dastardly Reno brothers to justice, and manages to fall for their feisty sister as he does so.   Based on real incidents, Tim Whelan’s mid-1950s programmer probably bears little resemblance to the true facts.   Scott’s his usually chipper self, his character loaded with a self-confidence that never tips over into arrogance or conceit; he has no doubts, no fear and a single-mindedness of purpose that is downright robotic. The bad guys – a band of brothers terrorising the Indiana countryside – are more interesting; they’re stereotypical baddies in one sense, but they share for the most part a sense of duty to one another. Their sister is a real Maureen O’Hara type – only she’s not played by Maureen O’Hara, which is a shame because Maureen might at least have bought some fire to the role.   Edgar Buchanan (Human Desire, Wichita) as a corrupt judge is also good fun, but overall this modest little western fails to impress.

(Reviewed 14th October 2011)