Carson City (1952)

Best movie of this year hands down!

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Early 50's..still thrilled with re-telling stories of the old west..a lot of us couldn't' wait for the next western to be released..whether it was Johnny Mack Brown or Wild Bill Elliott..or Hopalong Cassidy..we didn't care..but we all had our favorites..or whether they were shooting 8 or 10 shots from a 6 shooter without re-loading..it was all good fun..but when certain actors showed up in a western we seemed to pay a little more attention because these guys seemed authentic..James Stewart, Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Henry Fonda..for me it was Randolph Scott and Joel McRea..now with Carson City, we have Randolph Scott who always wanted to see the other side of the mountain and meets up with his brother..the stable kind of guy with a regular job and a girl that Scott hasn't seen since she was 16 and admits to having a big crush on way back then..he's in town to build a railroad..a faster, easier way to ship all that gold coming out of the mines..Raymond Massey as the mine owner with no gold..but he always has plenty of it..you guess where it's all coming from..hold ups by a gang called the Champaigne Bandits because those robbed are well treated..fried chicken lunch and Champaigne for their troubles..there is animosity between the town folk and the railroad crews.. And a pretty good fight between Scott and one of his men in the saloon..pretty well staged..the girl in question has never gotten over Scott and she has never thought of his brother in that way..they both work for her father publishing the town newspaper until he is killed..it's got to be the railroad people, right? The way it ends reminds me of the Errol Flynn/Olivia Dehaviland western from 1939..Dodge City when someone proclaims that their railroad building days are over only to have their mind changed by a good woman..all in all there is plenty of action..some romance..some wolves in sheeps' clothing.. A good story made better with Scott..

Carson City is directed by André De Toth and written by Sloan Nibley and Winston Miller. It stars Randolph Scott, Lucille Norman, Raymond Massey, Richard Webb and James Millican. Music is scored by David Buttolph and cinematography by John Boyle. Plot finds Scott as engineer Jeff Kincaid, who clashes with bandits and town locals when he is hired to build a new rail track through Carson City.Based in Nevada but filmed in Bronson Canyon in California, Carson City is routine stuff that still manages to come out in credit by the end. Story is set up around the building of the railroad between Carson City and Virginia, Scott and his rugged band of engineers have their work cut out in more ways than one. When a major player who is opposed to the railroad is murdered, it's no surprise who is going to get the blame. Cue dastardly goings on, sabotage, heroics and much macho posturing. In the mix is a love interest for Randolph, courtesy of a lifeless Lucille Norman, but naturally the trajectory of true love is not straightforward.Railroad Workers Terrorise Town!De Toth came on board late in production after Michael Curtiz baulked at trying the new Warnercolor process (this was the first film to use the process). De Toth went on record to say he only did the film for the money, but he gets much entertainment from a pretty standard script. Action quota is high, with exploding rocks, wagon over a cliff, stagecoach heist, train robbery, saloon brawls and great drama garnered out of a landslide/rescue passage of play. For Scott fans it's a pleasurable watch as it finds him in typically upright and stoic form, in fact the first time we see him he is indulging in a good old knuckle fight. Though asking us to accept his romance with Norman when there is 20 years between the two actors is a bit of a stretch.The scenery is pleasing yet the Warnercolor is as lifeless as Norman's performance, but the print of the film is in good shape and as long as Western fans prepare for standard formula dressed up nicely, then they should enjoy it well enough. 6.5/10

"Carson City" is not your standard Western fare. Randolph Scott portrays engineer Jeff Kincaid, back in Nevada from a job in Panama and looking more or less for some action. When he learns of a businessman's plans to build a railroad leg through mountainous territory between Virginia City and Carson City, he fairly jumps at the opportunity to ramrod the project.There are opposing forces to the railroad in town, not the least of which is Carson City Clarion owner and publisher Zeke Mitchell (Don Beddoe). When Mitchell winds up murdered, the suspicion falls on Kincaid and his crew. Adding to the dramatic tension is Kincaid's relationship with his half brother Alan (Richard Webb), whose fiancé Susan (Lucille Norman) is Mitchell's daughter. She was only sixteen years old when she last saw Jeff Kincaid, and now that he's back in town, an early crush is about to develop into a wedge between the two brothers.The part of the crooked businessman is handled by Raymond Massey as Big Jack Davis, gang leader of the "Champagne Bandits", whose opposition to the railroad lasts long enough to plan a last big score of gold bullion on the train's maiden run between the two Nevada cities. By this time, Kincaid and his men have been rescued from a landslide that trapped them in tunnel one of their railroad project, with Kincaid beginning to uncover Davis' hand in the plot to rob the train. It's all wrapped up pretty neatly by film's end, with Randolph Scott even getting the girl, more of a feel good ending as there was really no romantic relationship to speak of in the film.For trivia buffs, this was the first Warner Brothers film to be produced in the Warner Color format. The rendition was good in the print I viewed, and shows off nicely Randolph Scott's rather frequent change of outfits which is characteristic for his films, highlighted by the signature all black outfit in the middle of the story.

This film is a good Saturday afternoon western. Randolph Scott attempts to build a railroad between Carson City, and Virginia City. He must battle with an assortment of evil men, his own workers, and his step brother. I give this western an 8 out of 10 for its story, and its action.