Copyright 3 May 1943 by United Artists Productions, Inc. Presented by Harry Sherman. A film of Harry Sherman Productions, released through United Artists. New York opening at the Rialto: 30 September 1943. U.S. release: 10 September 1943. Australian release: 31 March 1944. 7,149 feet. 79½ minutes. SYNOPSIS: Stranger who reluctantly accepts job as town marshal finds himself being used as a catspaw by local land baron.COMMENT: "Pop" Sherman took time off from "Hoppy" to produce this extraordinarily lavish "B" western, featuring an elaborately destructive saloon brannigan and a multi-stranded chase/shoot-out/dynamite-explosive/hard-riding/siege climax which must rank as one of the most chock-full of action ever!As if its many action highlights were not recommendation enough, Shumate has fashioned a script which allows for some meaty characterizations as well. The villains are particularly colorful: Dekker is in his element as a shady banker, while Victor Jory has one of the finest roles of his career - which he plays with such tremendous panache and style as to usurp Dix's forefrontage as the nominal hero! In fact, Jory's engagingly ambivalent Jeff becomes such a charismatic focus of our attention, the author has no option but to have him perform a Sydney Carton before the fade-out!On the other side of the fence, Jane Wyatt makes a pretty but somewhat colorless heroine. Also surprisingly bland are Eugene Pallette and Robert Armstrong - both on the right side of the law for once. Ranged against them are some splendidly venal, subsidiary, whitecollar villains (Cavanaugh, Baldwin) and thugs (McDonald, Fowley). Stereotyped Willie Best is along for a bit of outrageously offensive comic relief, while Beryl Wallace contributes lively singing to a couple of rousing production numbers including an attractively period-costumed and choreo¬graphed "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again".The Kansan packs a lot of entertainment into 79 minutes. Classy photography and extensive sets too. A pity the direction rarely rises above the merely competent and that Dix is forced into a hokey romance ("Say, are you always so pretty this early in the morning?"). But you can't have everything.

Graced with an awesome cast (the polecat Dix as a marshal due to his gun-play, a job he accepts because of the landlady, Jory as a gambler and the brother of a banker played by Dekker, Palette as the marshal's friend, Jane Wyatt as a landlady, but also W. Best playing a racial stereotype for which he must now be despised by the half-wits) and certainly the best saloon fight ever, 'The Kansan' is intriguing, neither romantic or historical, but the western equivalent of a political thriller with a good dramatic plot; it is Jory's movie, and a very good showcase for his dark glamor. The script wishes us to care more for the gambling gentleman, than for the righteous marshal.The cast has to be one of the choicest ever, because you never get the feeling that anyone is just giving a cameo; the saloon fight was made, fought, shot with a joy unsurpassed, with gusto and with the keenest sense of the slapstick, as a frenzied general fistfight.Jory plays a gambler who's also the marshal's friend, and perhaps wishes to get his brother's insurance, anyway a very well written character; he was a much better actor than Dix, and it shows. Now, perhaps Dekker was himself better than Dix, but here he got a character role, i.e. a walking cliché. As for the others, Palette was dependable (for me, he's the father in a screwball movie). Jane Wyatt seems less assured or convincing, in a role better handled by other actresses in, certainly, other movies.

Any film with Richard Dix is worth a chance not only because he's a likable and powerful figure but he seemed to bounce around the edges of the studio system so that his films vary standard formulas in unpredictable ways. The Kansan's saloon sets are excellent, for instance, and the crowds well directed--other posts mention the remarkably modern dance number (with perspectival backdrops) and the extended brawl with well-choreographed sequences and character highlights. Outdoor cinematography at the toll-bridge across which several incidents of the plot transpire featured impressive depth and angle.A big stable of acting talent also raises this film's quality, but I'll let other posters provide those kudos.My only difference with other posters is their near-blanket condemnation of the Bones character played by the terrific William Best. Certainly most of the film's racial dynamics are regrettably stereotypical, but Dix and Best interact as two smart guys recognizing each other. The film's single best moment for me was when the Jory character enters Best's servant quarters at the Sager Hotel. When Jory walks in, the Bones character is READING, which suggests that not just Willie Best but his character knows that Bones's minstrel persona is an act. Further, when Jory leaves the room, the door swings shut to reveal a portrait of Lincoln.

This probably doesn't deserve the "B Movie" sobriquet. The production values are pretty high and it is quite heavy on the movie stars. This looks to me like it would have taken the A spot on a bill. Dix is good but Victor Jory nearly steals the show. The high point is likely one of the most over-the-top barroom brawls I've ever seen on celluloid. The script is also fine, although nothing too original. The low point in the movie....aside from a really unfortunate racial caricature.... is probably represented by a really ghastly World War II style showgirl routine based around "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". All in all, a satisfying show.