Carson City is directed by André De Toth and written by Sloan Nibley and Winston Miller. It stars Randolph Scott, Lucille Norman, Raymond Massey, Richard Webb and James Millican. Music is scored by David Buttolph and cinematography by John Boyle. Plot finds Scott as engineer Jeff Kincaid, who clashes with bandits and town locals when he is hired to build a new rail track through Carson City.Based in Nevada but filmed in Bronson Canyon in California, Carson City is routine stuff that still manages to come out in credit by the end. Story is set up around the building of the railroad between Carson City and Virginia, Scott and his rugged band of engineers have their work cut out in more ways than one. When a major player who is opposed to the railroad is murdered, it's no surprise who is going to get the blame. Cue dastardly goings on, sabotage, heroics and much macho posturing. In the mix is a love interest for Randolph, courtesy of a lifeless Lucille Norman, but naturally the trajectory of true love is not straightforward.Railroad Workers Terrorise Town!De Toth came on board late in production after Michael Curtiz baulked at trying the new Warnercolor process (this was the first film to use the process). De Toth went on record to say he only did the film for the money, but he gets much entertainment from a pretty standard script. Action quota is high, with exploding rocks, wagon over a cliff, stagecoach heist, train robbery, saloon brawls and great drama garnered out of a landslide/rescue passage of play. For Scott fans it's a pleasurable watch as it finds him in typically upright and stoic form, in fact the first time we see him he is indulging in a good old knuckle fight. Though asking us to accept his romance with Norman when there is 20 years between the two actors is a bit of a stretch.The scenery is pleasing yet the Warnercolor is as lifeless as Norman's performance, but the print of the film is in good shape and as long as Western fans prepare for standard formula dressed up nicely, then they should enjoy it well enough. 6.5/10

From the director of HOUSE OF WAX (André De Toth) comes this solid little Randolph Scott western about a roughneck engineer, with a reputation for being attracted to difficult jobs which require nerves of steel, who returns to his hometown of Carson City to build a railroad through tough, mountainous territory, encountering trouble out of AJ Davis (screen veteran Raymond Massey)and his gang of stagecoach thieves known as the "Champagne Bandits" in the papers. When Davis' partner-in-crime, Squires (James Millican) kills a stagecoach driver in the middle of a delivery of parts for an automatic drill which will help the railroad crew, in what was supposed to be a tactic to halt supplies which would help the construction project get done faster, complications ensue for Kincaid (Scott). Other subplots emerge such as Kincaid and his brother Alan's both being in love with the same woman (Lucille Norman's Susan), the murder of the local newspaper owner, Zeke (Don Beddoe), an avalanche caused by Davis' men which traps Kincaid and some of his men in a tunnel, and the attempted robbery of the new train at the conclusion of the film.Scott inhabits his hero with the right amount of charm, charisma, integrity, toughness, and playfulness, but when tested (such as a barroom brawl with a railroad worker or Squires calling him out in a duel), his Kincaid will not tolerate foolishness from those who press him. Massey is up to the task as the treacherous heel who will shoot you in the back, and not bat an eyelash, when his charade is in danger. Beautiful California locations enhanced by "Warnercolor" and plenty of the identifiable traits we come to know and love in regards to our B-westerns.

This is the earliest of Scott's films I've seen. The iconic Scott character is a Renaissance man- part engineer, miner, cowboy, gunfighter, bar-fighter and older brother. He's pretty good at every role and has time to land the leading lady. First time I've seen Scott land the leading lady, I was beginning to wonder. Raymond Massey here as the lead villain with a fondness for Champagne but without the prescription. Scott proves to be Dr. Kill Dare to Massey. I liked all the non cowboy action in this flick, but I'm not jumping into any mines. If I did, I'd take Scott with me, cause he's a never let em see you sweat guy even if the mine is set to give its occupants the shaft.Any fan of RS should enjoy this flick bridging the old & new West. There are some minor players with faces you'll remember from A&C, Superman or early TV.

Plenty of straightforward action here, with Randolph Scott as a fustian engineer hired to build a railroad from Carson City to Reno and San Francisco. He's opposed by most of the town who have heretofore depended on the stagecoach and despise ruffians. He's also opposed by his brother because the girl in town falls for Scott. The chief heavy is Raymond Massey, leader of the gang called "the champagne bandits" who sabotage the railroad and kill some of the construction workers because it's always been easier to hold up horse-drawn wagons instead of trains. Bang bang. Scott wins the conflict and the girl.Not an ounce of originality is to be found in the film, which doesn't detract from the appeal of its ritualistic rigor. Men "back up" their insults. They "call each other out." A fist fight wrecks a saloon but nobody's nose. Carson City's leaders are dressed in stovepipe hats and fancy vests. The proletariat are dressed in plaid shirts and dusty ducks. Only Scott stands out in a color-coordinated outfit of dark blue with a decorative yellow kerchief around his neck, properly accessorized. Everybody except the wimps carries a gun on his hip wherever he goes.You must admire Randolph Scott. Here he is, fiftyish, fit and handsome and steely eyed. A man of honor. He strides when he walks. And he had a good career, mostly limited to making these mostly routine Westerns during the latter part of his career. "Routine" -- with some exceptions. Directed by Bud Boettiger or Sam Pekinpah he made something out of the otherwise routine. He acted until his line was about to run out, then retired, a very wealthy man, and devoted himself to golf until he died, with never a backward look towards Hollywood.Movies like this gave a lot of work to stunt men too, and they're quite a group. Not necessarily handsome, not necessarily big or muscular, they had solidarity and the courage to do a dangerous job. And although they considered themselves an elite group in the industry, they weren't afraid to hang around with the extras or crew of the lower orders. Good-natured and generous people. Some, a very few, went on to occasional supporting roles, like Dar Robinson and Yakima Canutt.The movie's an okay way to while away an hour and a half, unpretentious and undemanding, kind of like having your frontal lobes massaged.