Watch Kansas Pacific For Free

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Yeah, many old films were a real cliché - good cause, good guys, bad guys, war looming, fights, beautiful lady in between the fights, lone hero, sandy mountain views, horse riders, gun fights, silly dialogs, pathetic phrases, shallow plot, very correct and inspiring words written across the screen either at the beginning or at the end credits - well, this is more or less this old film about Bleeding Kansas and all in the interim that follows. There is nothing exciting, unusual, fresh or new here, just a bunch of predictable baddies, bunch of heroic goodies, lady, sands, trains, railroad, fights and yes, this is over before you can say Kansas Pacific. Very trite and banal

In the years right before the Civil War both the North and the South struggled over the state of Kansas. It got so bad that the state was nicknamed "Bloody Kansas" due to all of the violence. Since many on both sides realized that war was about to erupt it became imperative for the North to complete a railroad through the state that would link up with their forts out west. Conversely, the South wanted to stop the Kansas-Pacific railroad from being built at all costs. This film is about the building of this railroad and features a Union officer named "Captain John Nelson" (Sterling Hayden) being dispatched by General Winfield Scott (Roy Gordon) to Kansas to try to prevent any disruptions. Fearing any possibility of a misunderstanding which might trigger a war, Captain Nelson is sent in civilian clothes and given the title of the lead engineer. This infuriates the current person-in-charge "Cal Bruce" (Barton MacLaine) and his daughter "Barbara Bruce" (Eve Miller) who have worked very hard building the railroad and feel that they are being demoted. Likewise, the main antagonist named "Bill Quantrill" (Reed Hadley) isn't too pleased about his sudden appearance either. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a solid B-movie which should appeal to most fans of the western genre. Admittedly, some parts were a bit corny but since this is a movie about Kansas I guess that's quite alright. In any case, I have rated the movie accordingly. Average.

I can't recall Clayton Moore as anyone but the "brave masked man," but here he is as a bad guy with no mask. I'd say that counts as irony.Also: who ever heard of a main character named "Mr. Bruce" in the Westerns. I think I know the source of the name, as my dad wrote the script. The same goes for the daughter, Barbara. If they had a daughter, my folks planned to name her Barbara. Three years later, they did and my sister's name is Barbara.The memorable quotes struck a chord with me, especially when Mr. Bruce says that no one pushes him around -- except his daughter and his wife. Such dry humor was a hallmark of my father and I miss it and, of course, him.

This is a curious unpretentious little western from the former Monogram Studios about the building of the Kansas Pacific Railroad. The action takes place before and during the Civil War with Sterling Hayden as the Army Captain sent west to supervise. He supersedes Barton MacLane who is the foreman and has some time to romance MacLane's daughter played by Eve Miller.Film has some nice action sequences, but the script has a lot of holes in it. Reed Hadley plays William Quantrill who's doing a lot ofsabotage and pretty successfully. Then for no real reason he stops and lets construction proceed. He says he's waiting for some artillery from the Confederate States of America. That's the only indication we get that the Civil War has officially begun. Then when the railroad is finished, Quantrill decides to use the artillery to attack moving trains. I suppose while he's waiting, Quantrill is out doing the stuff he's more infamous for.Quantrill is a stock villain in a whole lot of westerns, yet no one has ever done a reasonably accurate film with him in it. Reed Hadley, who had one of the best speaking voices in Hollywood, does his best with what he's given here. All you folks who watched Racket Squad back in the 50s remember Hadley narrating and portraying Captain Braddock. His voice is unmistakeable.Another unmistakeable voice belongs to Clayton Moore who has a bit part as one of Quantrill's henchman while on hiatus from The Long Ranger.Don't expect too much from this. DeMille did it better in Union Pacific, but he had a lot more resources to work with.