Rage at Dawn

It is more than twenty minutes into the movie before its star Randolph Scott makes his appearance and his lean craggy presence gives a decided lift to proceedings .He plays an undercover agent sent to pose as a train robber and infiltrate the Reno brothers gang who -aided by corrupt local officials -are wreaking havoc in Indiana .He then persuades the gang to embark on a train robbery with a view to entrapping them . The script is by the cult pulp crime novelist Horace McCoy and is based on a story by another feted pulpster ,Frank Gruber, and it is slick and efficient with solid performance from a sturdy supporting cast which includes dependable performers like Forrest Tucker ,and J Carroll Naish as two of the Reno brothers Handsome photography and the brisk direction of Tim Whelan are distinct assets and the historically accurate finale ends proceedings on a gritty and powerful note as frontier justice takes over from the rule of law .

A good little movie which Western devotees will like