Comanche Station
| Comanche Station | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Budd Boetticher |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Burt Kennedy |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Mischa Bakaleinikoff |
| Cinematography | Charles Lawton Jr. |
| Edited by | Edwin H. Bryant |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 74 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Comanche Station is a 1960 American CinemaScope western Eastman Color film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott, Nancy Gates and Claude Akins. The film was the last of Boetticher's late 1950s Ranown Cycle. This was filmed in the northern California region of Lone Pine, California, near the foot of Mount Whitney. The mountainous accumulations of boulders known as the Alabama Hills served as the backdrop for the film's opening and closing scenes.[1]
Plot
Jefferson Cody (Randolph Scott), whose wife was captured by Comanches, frees another man's wife and is taking her home. Three outlaws, led by the charming but malevolent Ben Lane (Claude Akins), reveal that the woman's husband has offered a $5,000 reward, making the woman, Lordsburg resident Mrs. Lowe (Nancy Gates), suspicious of Cody's motives in coming to her rescue.
Lane is known to Cody, who helped court-martial him from the army for killing "tame" Indians. The Comanche in the area, on the warpath due to recent Comanche scalpings, kill Frank (Skip Homeier), one of Lane's men, and make repeated attempts to kill the rest of the party. Lane attaches himself to Cody, intending to make it look like the Comanches killed Cody and to take the reward for himself.
Although her husband did not try to find her himself, the reward for the return of Mrs. Lowe is "dead or alive," so Lane prefers dead so she won't be able to testify against him. He tries to ambush her and Cody, and when partner Dobie (Richard Rust) refuses to help, Lane shoots him.
In a showdown in the hills, Cody gets the better of Lane. He escorts the woman back home, discovering that her husband is blind. Before he can be paid the $5,000, Cody rides away.
The town of Lordsburg is mentioned some 20 times in the movie, but not visited once.
Cast
- Randolph Scott as Jefferson Cody
- Claude Akins as Ben Lane
- Nancy Gates as Nancy Lowe
- Skip Homeier as Frank
- Richard Rust as Dobie
- Rand Brooks as Station Man
- Dyke Johnson as John Lowe
DVD release
In 2008 a DVD box set of five Budd Boetticher films starring Randolph Scott was released. Along with Comanche Station the set includes Buchanan Rides Alone, Decision at Sundown, Ride Lonesome, and The Tall T.[2]
See also
References
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Comanche Station. |
- Comanche Station at the Internet Movie Database
- Comanche Station at AllMovie
- Comanche Station at the TCM Movie Database
- Comanche Station at the American Film Institute Catalog