Quaint town-bound Western soap opera with Randolph Scott
Two ex-Confederates (Randolph Scott & Noah Beery Jr.) arrive in the town of Sundown on the wedding day of the town boss (John Carroll), whom the leader of the two (Scott) blames for someone’s death years earlier. Andrew Duggan plays the crooked sheriff.
“Decision at Sundown” (1957) has the typical Western tropes: bold stranger, his amiable sidekick, the tyrannical town boss, his crooked sheriff, their hired guns, the good girl, the bad girl, and the quaint town setting filled with the typical characters (the barber, the doctor, the minister, etc.). All of these are routine for traditional Westerns.
What sets “Decision at Sundown” apart are the interesting nuances of the protagonist and antagonist. The villain is the standard town kingpin with his bought sheriff & gunmen that overwhelm the town folk. The hero is the stock laconic outsider who rides in on a duty of vengeance.
The modification is the character of the hero and villain. Bart Allison (Scott) is noble on the surface, but he’s a curious and flawed protagonist. He lacks insight to his wife's character. What happens to her while Bart is fighting the war is revealing and begs the question: What kind of husband was he? His legalism might attract respect superficially, but repel those closer.
Tate Kimbrough (Carroll) is the ruthless town boss, but he has undeniable charisma and is a lady’s man. He has an open relationship with a courtesan, Ruby (Valerie French), while intending to wed the good girl, Lucy (Karen Steele). Moreover, he obviously has no qualms about having affairs with married ladies. Nevertheless, he’s likable, level-headed and robust. He loves and understands the fairer sex. He’s honest with them concerning his questionable morals, yet his charisma draws them regardless. The respectable Lucy concedes that she pursued him. It’s not hard seeing Errol Flynn or Clark Gable in this gig.
These distinguishing elements make “Decision at Sundown” worthwhile, but they don’t remove the fact that it’s a town-bound Western soap opera that lacks the mesmerizing style of “Rio Bravo” (1959).
The film runs 1 hour, 17 minutes, and was shot at Agoura, California.
GRADE: C+/B-