Watch Rails Into Laramie For Free

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

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

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Progress on the railroad has pretty much ground to a halt as the workers spend most of their time drinking rotgut in Dan Duryea's boozer.The leading citizens of the town request military help and tough soldier, Payne, is appointed as a sort of temporary marshal. Trouble is, he's an old mate of Duryea so it looks as though there's going to be a conflict of interests.This is an above average Universal western: the two main protagonists play off each other well and there is excellent support from a very large cast of familiar westerners (many uncredited). Special mentions must go to Lee Van Cleef as a menacing, trigger happy bad guy (was he ever anything else?), Mari Blanchard as a saloon girl with a heart of gold (was she ever anything else?) and James Griffith, cast against type in a humorous role, as a bumbling ineffectual lawman.Action scenes are well staged - particularly those on the trains - the photography is first class and the Technicolor beautiful as always.Oh, and as an added bonus for B western fans, there's a title song over the opening credits rumbled out by the ever popular Rex Allen....

A very common and rather clichéd plots for old westerns is the notion of someone trying to stop the railroad. While there really wasn't a historical basis, too many films were about a supposed overt or covert effort to stop progress. In most all of them, however, the reason why the baddies are doing this is pretty obvious...but in this one I really couldn't see why Shanessy (Dan Duryea) is doing this...and it's a major weakness of the film.The man sent to help get the railroad built is an Army Sergeant, Jeff Harder (John Payne) and through most of the film, he makes very little progress thanks to Shanessy and a rather stupid town that tolerates Shanessy's antics. It all leads up to a murder conviction, a jail escape and train chase. None of it's bad...none of it's outstanding in any way. A standard and rather clichéd film.By the way, late in the film a lady is shot from about 8-10 feet away with what is probably a .45 Colt cartridge. Amazingly, she survived...a miracle and a half!

Universal-International presents a western thought of as mediocre by critics; but this doesn't mean the movie is not worth watching. RAILS into LARAMIE stars John Payne as Jefferson Harder, who intends to go to Laramie and clean up the wide-open town. Plus there is the matter of the railroad having problems building their line into town. Everybody around knows that all of the crime is coming from a gang taking orders from Jim Shanessy(Dan Duryea). No charges are able to stick in court because somehow the all-male juries are intimidated. Shanessy is surprised when his old buddy Harder arrives in town. It doesn't take long for Jeff Harder to find out that the railroad is not progressing, because Shanessy and saloon gal-pal Lou Carter(Mari Blanchard)are a tough team keeping the railhead out of Laramie so both can control their criminal activities without any interference. Well, Harder is in town and is determined to clean up Laramie, so the rail line can come through.Decent old west saga that also features: Barton McLaine, Ralph Dumke, James Griffith, Joyce Mackenzie and Lee Van Cleef.

Jesse Hibbs directed some westerns like this one, "Ride Clear of Diablo" and "The Spoilers" which achieved a rare overall perfection, considering what they were aiming at, a public wanting to see a B Technicolor production. Besides Hibb's direction there are the good performances by John Payne and Dan Duryea. Mari Blanchard is not as good here as she was in "Destry" , made in the same year. The intelligent screenplay by D.D. Beauchamp and Joseph Hoffman, even makes a point about the political importance of women, in situations where they are braver than men. Dan Duryea is Jim Shanessy, a man who is making money counting on the spending of the railroad workers, and in consequence, trying to make them slow down so they can stay longer where he has his establishments. Jeff Harder (John Payne), his old time friend is set in charge of cleaning up the place. When he arrives, the town leaders, which are expecting hundreds of soldiers , and do not absorb his friendship with Shanessy have a reaction that reminds us of "Destry Rides Again" and "Destry". There are excellent scenes of Harder using his fists and fighting skills. Rex Allen sing the main theme song.