Abilene Town (1946)

My Review

“Abilene Town” is a Western movie about a marshal who tries to keep the peace in a Kansas cattle town split between unruly cattlemen, rowdy cowboys, and newly arrived homesteaders wanting to fence the open range. Director Edwin L. Marin (“Johnny Angel” 1945) put together an old-fashioned Western with fair production values and good performances. The script was written by Ernest Haycox, adapted from his own 1941 novel “Trial Town.”

The talented cast includes Randolph Scott, Ann Dvorak, Edgar Buchanan, Rhonda Fleming, Lloyd Bridges, Hank Patterson, and Helen Boyce as Big Annie. Dvorak’s character Rita provides the entertaining saloon musical numbers. The watchable B-Western “Abilene Town” was popular at the box office for Guild Productions, Jules Levy Productions, and United Artists. It was filmed at the Agoura Ranch in Agoura, California.