No, it can't be. Randolph Scott in a dull western? I didn't believe it until I saw "Trail Street", a very talky talking picture with a good cast. Here, Scott is Bat Masterson who comes to Liberal, Kansas and becomes Marshal. He comes to the aid of newspaper editor Robert Ryan, one of Hollywood's better if underrated actors. Along for comic relief is old reliable Gabby Hayes, who never disappoints, and Anne Jeffreys as a glamorous dance hall girl.It takes forever for them to get around to the bad guys, spearheaded by Steve Brodie, who 'owns' Liberal, via his saloon. No new ground is broken and the story is the usual good guys vs bad guys, but the script must have been enormous due to the great amount of dialogue. "Trail Street" is for hardcore Randolph Scott fans, who is his usual stalwart self.

I am a fan of Randolph Scott Westerns. While some of them are amazingly clichéd (as are most Westerns of this era), his easy delivery and style really elevate the films to classic and near-classic status. While this film features yet another example of real life Western heroes being exploited after their death by Hollywood (in this case, Bat Masterson), the film works well due to him as well as excellent supporting characters. One is the always strong acting of Robert Ryan--an excellent actor who is sadly almost forgotten today. The other is the ubiquitous Gabby Hayes who has one of his best roles as the crusty and very colorful deputy. Here he is more enjoyable than in his many supporting roles for Roy Rogers and John Wayne--mostly because his part is better written and he's given more to do.The plot is pretty much the plot of half the Westerns ever made. There are some baddies who hire a bunch of thugs to run roughshod over the locals and it's up to a do-gooder (Scott) to restore the peace and kill off the villains. However, how the plot is executed is much better than average and due to this the film is still watchable fun. Just don't expect a whole lot of innovation or uniqueness--unless you want to see what might just be Gabby Hayes' best performance.

I am a huge Randolph Scott fan, so I was surprised and disappointed to find he is barely in this film! The movie really belongs to Robert Ryan, who is the hero in the jam, and the one embroiled in the love triangle. Good grief, Gabby Hayes gets more screen time than Mr. Scott in this movie!! For many viewers, that is not a problem, but I am from the Walter Brennan school of sidekicks, not Gabby Hayes...although I will say that his lines were a bit more humorous than annoying in this film than in many of his films with Randolph Scott and John Wayne.Personally, I found the movie very slow going, with a convoluted plot that was muddied even more by the unnecessary romance subplot. By convoluted, I don't mean impossible to understand or figure out, I just mean too messy for its own good.The direction is uninspired, and the two main bad guys have the most unsatisfying come-uppance at the end. The whole movie comes across as fake, unrealistic, and poorly filmed.Just so you don't think I can't find anything good here...On the plus side, Anne Jeffreys is very sexy in her all-too-brief parts of this film. Not sure if it is actually her singing, or someone else, but whoever it was had a very pretty voice. Ms. Jeffreys also had a couple of nice acting moments. The script needed either a lot more of her, or to remove her character altogether. As it was, her nice few moments weren't enough to help the film.Lastly, there is Mr. Scott. He looks fantastic in this film and is the no-nonsense lawman out to set things right. Some folks complain that his characters prior to 1950 were too goody-goody perfect, but that's never bothered me at all. I'll take him goody-goody pre-1950, or gritty and violent post-1950...either way, Randolph Scott was a real Western hero.It saddens me to have to say it, but I would have to recommend passing this film by, unless you are a die-hard fan...there are so many better Scott films out there that this one won't be missed.

After cleaning up Dodge City (with a little help from Wyatt Earp) Bat Masterson goes to Liberal, Kansas where they've got a nice little range war going. Plus a rather interesting scheme of sharecropping.Randolph Scott is Bat Masterson and he's after villains Billy House and Steve Brodie who are driving homesteaders off their farms. The homesteaders they are driving off are in a sharecropping scheme financed by Robert Ryan. Seems as though he's staking the various farmers to a parcel of land to homestead for a percentage of profit from their crop. Ryan's about to lose his shirt as a result of all the shenanigans.As portrayed by Scott, Bat Masterson is a stand-up western hero who has a passion to go east and become a reporter which we all know he did later in life. Anne Jeffreys and Madge Meredith are involved in a romantic subplot involving Brodie and Ryan which is a little silly and does detract from the action. Anne Jeffreys does sing nice though.Of course Gabby Hayes as always provides the great comic relief.A good addition to the Randolph Scott collection of westerns. Also interesting because his later western films don't have him as wearing a hat as white as the one here.This review is dedicated to Kasey Hayes of the Professional Bull Riders who is a proud resident of Liberal, Kansas, a town with a great tradition whether Bat Masterson marshaled there or not.