Randolph Scott Movies

The creative team of producer Harry Joe Brown and star Randolph Scott turned out some of the best westerns of the 1950s, and Santa Fe is no exception. Set in the years following the Civil War, the film casts Scott as Britt Canfield, one of four ex-Confederate brothers who head West to carve out a new life. While his three siblings (Jerome Courtland, Peter Thompson and John Archer) cast their lot on the wrong side of the law, Britt accepts a job with the Santa Fe Railroad. Inevitably, Britt is obliged to bring his wayward brothers to justice, though he knows full well that the person responsible for their downfall is "untouchable" gambling boss Cole Sanders (Roy Roberts). In a well-staged climax, Britt squares accounts with the evil Sanders and his hulking henchman Crake (Jock O'Mahoney). Curiously, many TV prints of Santa Fe were processed with the soundtrack slightly out of sync with the action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in British Columbia but filmed in Colorado, Cariboo Trail stars Randolph Scott as a cattle-drive boss from Montana. Crooked Victor Jory and his minions stampede the cattle, causing Scott's partner Bill Williams to lose an arm. Out of a job, Scott gives gold mining a try, but even here he is tormented by Jory. The villain is hoist on his own petard when he tries to stir up the local Indian tribes. Proving that the good guys don't always win, Scott gives up mining and turns to cattle ranching. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Randolph Scott both co-produced and starred in this above average Western chronicling the career of one of the last of the legendary Western outlaws. When the Dalton gang is ambushed by U.S. Marshals, Bill Doolin (Scott), the last surviving member, forms his own group of bank robbers that includes Red Buck (Frank Fenton), Arkansas Tom Jones (Charles Kemper), and Bitter Creek (John Ireland). Although the gang is widely successful, things quickly heat up to a point where Doolin advises his men to lay low before reuniting after three months. Hiding out in a church in Claymore, Doolin is befriended by Deacon Burton (Griff Barnett), whose daughter, Elaine (Virginia Huston), he begins to court and eventually marries under the alias of Daley. But the past catches up with the former outlaw soon enough and he is forced to skip town. Resuming their illegal occupation, the Doolin gang is finally cornered in Ingalls, where Tulsa (Jock Mahoney) is killed and Arkansas captured. Doolin and surviving gang member Little Billy (Noah Beery Jr.) hide out at the former Daley homestead, where, to their surprise, Elaine has been patiently waiting for the return of her husband. Determined to leave his old life for good, Doolin plans to flee with Elaine to an unclaimed area between Kansas and Texas, but an old foe, Marshal Sam Hughes (George Macready), is waiting in the wings. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The Walking Hills stars Randolph Scott as a Westerner named Jim Carey. He is one of several people searching for a lost gold mine. Carey's cohorts in this treasure hunt include at least one convicted murderer and several potential killers, so it's a source of wonder who'll survive till fade-out time (veteran moviegoers will probably consider it a safe bet that grizzled old Edgar Buchanan won't be one of the survivors). Lust and greed collide head-on when gorgeous Chris Jackson (Ella Raines) enters the picture. Like most Randolph Scott oaters, The Walking Hills is longer on tension than fast action; director John Sturges would later employ the same cat-and-mouse formula in Bad Day at Black Rock (1954). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The success of 1947's Badman's Territory prompted RKO Radio to assemble another "outlaw rally," Return of the Badmen. Randolph Scott plays US marshal Vance, assigned to rid the Oklahoma Territory of outlaws. This proves to be quite a challenge, inasmuch as virtually every frontier bad guy has converged upon the territory. Led by the surly Sundance Kid (Robert Ryan), the rogue's gallery includes the Younger Brothers (Steve Brodie, Richard Powers, Robert Bray), the Daltons (Lex Barker, Walter Reed, Michael Harvey) and Billy the Kid (Dean White). For all the formidable villainy, the film's most fascinating conflict develops between the two heroines: feisty Cheyenne (Anne Jeffreys) and prim 'n' proper Madge Allen (Jacqueline White). Return of the Badmen posted a huge profit, spawning yet another "all-star" western from RKO, 1951's Best of the Badmen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Zane Grey, that bottomless bounty of inspiration for Hollywood westerns, wrote the novel upon which Gunfighters was based. Randolph Scott stars as a gunslinger who's vowed to kill no more. He goes to work for a land baron (Griff Barnett) who's been driving out neighboring ranchers by fair means and foul. The baron's nice daughter (Dorothy Hart) falls for Scott, while the girl's nastier sister (Barbara Britton) is obsessed by her father's vicious henchman Bruce Cabot. Scott eventually chooses the right side in the ranch war, leading to a showdown with Cabot--and the breaking of his vow to never again fire a gun. Gunfighters was photographed in Cinecolor, a process that produced pleasing reds and blues but ignored yellows and greens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episodic holiday film centers around a rich spinster aunt whose greedy nephew is attempting legal action to take her estate. Before he makes a final decision, a caring judge tells the spinster that she can rally together the three foster children she raised to help her keep the estate, he will delay the nephew's action. Now she must find her three grown boys who have gone in wildly different directions. One is a boozy cowboy involved in a baby racket, another is a deadbeat deeply indebted to the nephew, and the other is a successful owner of a South American cafe on the lam for a con-job he didn't commit. She endures and adventurous journey, but the three do manage to come together on Christmas Eve, save the estate, and give the conniving nephew his due. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this is '40s western a U.S. marshal chases a band of big-name bandits into no-man's territory (land outside of U.S. government jurisdiction) as he's trying to locate his little brother. He ends up facing off with none other than the James Boys, the Daltons and other notorious fellows. Badman's Territory proved so successful that the formula was repeated several times by RKO and other studios. ~ All Movie Guide

Dan Mitchell (Randolph Scott) is the town marshal of Abilene, KS, in the turbulent years after the Civil War and the start of the big cattle drives out of Texas. The town is growing faster than a lot of citizens are prepared to deal with it, especially as homesteaders start moving in, fighting for space with the cattlemen. Dan has kept the peace, such as it is, by keeping the saloons, gambling, and guns on one side of Main Street and the shop-owners, farmers, women, and children on the other. He's also been walking a tightrope in his own life, conducting a sometimes turbulent romance with Rita (Ann Dvorak), a saloon singer and co-owner, while also not discouraging the attentions of Sherry Balder (Rhonda Fleming), the "nice girl" daughter of one of the town's leading businessmen, who would love to marry Dan if only he would settle down. A new wave of homesteaders is arriving, and the cattlemen, cowboys, and saloon owners want them driven out and the town kept wide open, fearing the homesteaders' religious beliefs and the arrival of families, which means schools, building, and encroaching "respectability." Trouble breaks out and people are killed, with Dan caught in the middle. Using his guile and a good deal of bravery, and the unwitting help from the cowardly county sheriff (Edgar Buchanan), Dan manages to get the shop owners onto the side of the homesteaders, and plays a dangerous game of divide-and-conquer with the saloon-keepers and cowboys. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Belle Of The Yukon is standard backstage musical fare, featuring Randolph Scott as a reformed con man who has fled north from the law and opened a successful dancehall/ gambling establishment in the upper reaches of Malamute. Meanwhile, his former lover Belle (Gypsy Rose Lee), who he deserted when he went on the lam, arrives as part of a new show troupe and finds her ex-boyfriend's new ways powerfully attractive. But Lettie Candless (Dinah Shore) also has designs on our hero. A thin plot and light characterizations are kept afloat by bouncy performances, glitzy production, and the usual clutch of sprightly musical numbers. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Accepted in 1943 as standard wartime propaganda, Gung Ho can be seen today as an outrageous exercise in raging machismo. Randolph Scott plays Thorwald, a marine colonel assigned to assemble a crack squadron of fearless jungle fighters for the all-important raid on Japanese-held Makim Island (which in real life was recaptured only a few weeks before the film's release). Thorwald seems determine to select the dregs of the earth for this mission: most of his squadron is comprised of misfits, barroom brawlers, borderline psychos and outright murderers. It is suggested that these sociopaths are the only men truly qualified for the mission at hand, and by film's end the squadron members-living and dead-are lauded as true-blue patriots. Once one gets past the questionable premise, Gung Ho is a fairly exciting WWII melodrama, with a particularly thrilling climax. The film is currently available in its original form and in a computer-colorized version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Western drama, Steve Upton (Randolph Scott) is the sheriff of a Utah community in 1860. Upton's best friend, Cheyenne Rogers (Glenn Ford), was once an outlaw, but under Steve's guidance, he's gone straight and tries to earn an honest living. However, while Cheyenne is in town to pay Upton a visit, the local bank is robbed and Cheyenne is the prime suspect. Through Cheyenne is quickly convicted, Upton is convinced his friend is innocent, and the sheriff helps the former outlaw break out of jail; together, they hit the trail trying to find the real culprits and clean up the town. The Desperadoes had the distinction of being the first Technicolor feature released by Columbia Pictures. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The three stars of Universal's The Spoilers -- Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne and Randolph Scott -- were reunited for the pageantlike adventure yarn Pittsburgh. As indicated by the title, this is a saga of the steel industry, with longtime buddies Pittsburgh Markham (Wayne) and Cash Evans (Scott) rising from the ranks of miners to run their own foundry. Ruthlessly devoted to his work, Pittsburgh eventually has a falling out with Cash and also jeopardizes his romantic relationship with beautiful Josie Winters (Dietrich). Thanks to his duplicitous business practices, Pittsburgh loses both Josie and his steel mill; but when America enters WW II, he redeems himself by signing on as a common workman with Cash's still-thriving organization. Well acted and directed, Pittsburgh nonetheless lacks the extra spark which transforms a good film into a great one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide