Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)

A slightly tangential addition to the classic “Ranown” series – unlike the other parts of the series the hero was based on an established character from a series of books and is therefore a much more straightforward ’50s B movie Western which doesn’t stray too much from convention. (Other entries in the series are based on books, but more loosely.) Randolph Scott plays an easy-going drifter who rides into a corrupt town (the familiar Old Tuscon studios, familiar from Rio Bravo and other classics). His good nature leads him to help out a stranger in distress, and so he is arrested for a murder he had no part in, largely as an excuse to steal the money in his pocket.

As with everything made by Randolph Scott and Budd Boetticher it’s excellently made. However, unlike the other entries in the series it’s just the sum of its parts. While in the other films the characters have motivations that lead them to try to escape from their genre roles (usually unsuccessfully), here it’s all pretty straightforward. It is recommended, but isn’t a classic.