Randolph Scott Classics: Rage At Dawn (1955) / When The West Was Young (1932) / Abilene Town (1946) (3-DVD)

Scott is federal agent James Barlow, who is assigned to put an end to the Reno gang's reign of terror. He realizes that the best way to beat them is to make them think he's one of them, and after staging a string of phony train robberies, he's accepted into the gang. Barlow discovers that the reason the Reno's were able to operate so freely is because they've been paying off many local officials. He finds himself caught between the "bad" and the "good" guys. Mala Powers stars as Scott's romantic interest and among those portraying members of the Reno gang are Forrest Tucker, J. Carrol Naish and Denver Pyle. Starring Randolph Scott, Forrest Tucker, Edgar Buchanan, Mala Powers; Directed by Tim Whelen.

When The West Was Young (1932, B&W, 57 minutes): Black-hearted gambling hall proprietor Judson Holderness has long coveted Adam Naab's ranch, but Naab has repeatedly made it clear that his land is not for sale. Adam is unaware that his son Snap has been dealing with Holderness on the side, rustling livestock to pay off his huge gambling debts. To make matters worse, Snap's best girl, Judy, finds herself irresistibly drawn to Jack Hare, a land surveyor hired by Naab to help legally protect the ranch's boundaries. Backed into a corner, Snap is primed to explode in anger and frustration, creating the perfect opening for Holderness to execute his heinous land grab. When The West Was Young (originally titled Heritage of the Desert) presents a pair of future western notables at their humble beginnings. Randolph Scott, who portrays greenhorn land surveyor Jack Hare, would begin to make his mark a decade later, appearing with Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Errol Flynn and Lee Marvin in some of the better westerns of the 40s and 50s. This fine western marked the directorial debut of the great Henry Hathaway, whose later screen credits include Niagara (1953), How the West Was Won (1962), The Sons Of Katie Elder (1965), True Grit (1969) and many other classics. Starring Randolph Scott; Directed by Henry Hathaway.

Abilene Town (1946, B&W, 46 minutes): Located where the Chisholm Trail ends, Abilene is a bustling cow town largely supported by Texas cattlemen driving their herds to market. Marshal Dan Mitchell, finding it increasingly difficult to keep rowdy cowboys from running roughshod over peaceful homesteaders, tries unsuccessfully to enlist the aid of lackadaisical county Sheriff Bravo Trimble. He will need help keeping the peace when, incensed by barb-wire barricades set up by the homesteaders, brutish Cap Ryder and his trigger-happy gunmen are provoked to violence. Randolph Scott, a college-educated Virginia gentleman who took up motion-picture acting as a lark, found himself typed as a Western leading man in the early 1930s and became a genre icon. Abilene Town, an enjoyable starring vehicle from the middle period of his career, exploits familiar situations quite effectively, thanks to above-average scripting, directing, and acting. Top marks in the latter department go not only to Scott but also to cast members Ann Dvorak, playing a tough-talking saloon girl, and Rhonda Fleming, as the shopkeeper's daughter who captures the marshal's heart. Starring Randolph Scott, Ann Dvorak, Edgar Buchanan, Rhonda Fleming, Lloyd Bridges; Director by Edwin L. Marin.