Decision at Sundown (1957)

Randolph Scott turns up in the town of Sundown hoping to kill the corrupt town boss (John Carroll) who he blames for the death of his wife. Definitely not the best of the Scott-Boetticher Westerns; however I on this viewing I found it a much more enjoyable film that in remembered. Compared to the other films they made together, the town-based setting feels a bit restrictive, and means the focus is scattered around a number of fairly stereotypical citizens rather than really exploring the character of the hero and villain.

What does work well is the interesting twists they put on the basic “stranger rides into a small town and takes on the local semi-criminal boss” theme. Exactly what Carroll’s villain has done to the town is never really explored, but it’s clear he probably isn’t a “good person”. None-the-less, he isn’t really responsible for the death of Scott’s wife, and thus the revenge quest isn’t really justified. The best bits of the film are in the second half, when it begins subverting the fairly generic premise. Scott is increasingly irrational and unhinged as he pursues his revenge while ignoring other characters’ pleas about the morality of it. Meanwhile Carroll shows he isn’t entirely the cowardly villain hiding behind his henchman, making a last-ditch stand mainly for the (probably futile) purpose of trying to restore the fear the townsfolk had for him after his status has fallen away.

It isn’t an absolute classic in the way some of the other Scott-Boetticher films are, but it’s still a very good film with a lot to enjoy.