Directed by Sidney Lanfield
USA 1948

  Sometime prior to his musical endowments took over Dick Powell did some fine Film Noir work, but the western "Station West" stands out as an unusual blend of the 'black cinema' style and the cowboy genre. Powell never easily succumbs to the spurred tough guy role - it takes a healthy fist fight for us to eventually buy-in. Noir notable Jane Greer as the femme fatale gives another sterling performance and Frank Fenton's snappy dialogue really adds to this fast-paced and complex story. Harry J. Wild's cinematography is another desirable plus. Basic premise is gold and the flux of small town power illegally controlling its movement out of town. Powell comes in as an undercover military investigator and swiftly establishes a reputation as a trouble-maker. Lots of thriller/catch-the-bad-guy atmosphere and it is definitely worth adding to any collection. Raymond Burr gets a precursor taste of his role as Perry Mason, by playing a lawyer. A memorable piece that comes highly recommended!

Gary W. Tooze

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 1st, 1948

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DVD Review: Éditions Montparnasse - Region 0 - PAL

 

 

Comments:

This image is relatively weak - only acceptable for tube viewing. It is non-progressive although the combing is very fine and mostly unnoticeable. There is a slight tinted haze over the image and some boosting has occurred. Grey-tones are not strong, but damage is minimal and sharpness is better than one might anticipate from a typical Montparnasse single layered transfer. There are no extras save the standard mono-brow Bromberg's short introduction (in French). This is a underrated film melding Noir and vintage western. It works very well and as it is not available in NTSC - making for a viable reason to pick this little number up. Gary W. Tooze

 

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DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Éditions Montparnasse - Region 0 - PAL

 

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Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)

The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir by Foster Hirsch	Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City by Nicholas Christopher	Shades of Noir: A Reader by Joan Copjec	The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the Classic Era of Film Noir by Eddie Muller	The Little Black and White Book of Film Noir: Quotations from Films of the 40's and 50's by Peg Thompson, Saeko Usukawa	Film Noir by Alain Silver	Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era, 1940-1959 by Michael F. Keaney	Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir by Foster Hirsch

Check out more in "The Library"

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Recommended Reading for Western Genre Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)

The Crowded Prairie: American National Identity in the Hollywood Western (Cinema and Society) by Michael Coyne	The Invention of the Western Film : A Cultural History of the Genre's First Half Century (Genres in American Cinema S.) by Scott Simmon	The Searchers (Bfi Film Classics) by Edward Buscombe	The Western Genre by John Saunders	Westerns: Films through History (AFI Film Readers) by Janet Walker	The Encyclopedia of Westerns (The Facts on File Film Reference Library) by Herb Fagen, Tom Selleck	Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth-Century America by Richard Slotkin	The Western (Inside Film) by David Lusted	Red River (Bfi Film Classics) by Suzanne Liandrat-Guigues

Check out more in "The Library"

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