Comanche Station (1960)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writer:

Burt Kennedy (written by)

Release Date:

March 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

SHE WAS WORTH $5000 ALIVE...OR DEAD! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

A man saves a woman who had been kidnapped by Comanches, then struggles to get both of them home alive.

Plot Keywords:

Reward | Rescue | Horse Thief | Search For Spouse | Loss Of Friend

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Jefferson Cody
Nancy Gates	...	Nancy Lowe
Claude Akins	...	Ben Lane
Skip Homeier	...	Frank
Richard Rust	...	Dobie
Rand Brooks	...	Station Man
Dyke Johnson	...	John Lowe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
P. Holland	...	Lowe Boy (uncredited)
Foster Hood	...	Comanche Lance Bearer (uncredited)
Joe Molina	...	Comanche Chief (uncredited)
Vince St. Cyr	...	Warrior (uncredited)

Directed by
Budd Boetticher

Writing credits
Burt Kennedy		(written by)

Produced by
Budd Boetticher	....	producer
Harry Joe Brown	....	executive producer
Randolph Scott	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Mischa Bakaleinikoff		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Charles Lawton Jr.		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Edwin H. Bryant		(as Edwin Bryant)

Art Direction by
Carl Anderson

Set Decoration by
Frank Tuttle		(as Frank A. Tuttle)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sam Nelson	....	assistant director

Sound Department
George Cooper	....	sound
John P. Livadary	....	recording supervisor (as John Livadary)

Editorial Department
Henri Jaffa	....	color consultant

Music Department
Mischa Bakaleinikoff	....	conductor
Gerard Carbonara	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
George Duning	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
George Greeley	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Leigh Harline	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Paul Sawtell	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Ranown Pictures Corp. (as A Ranown Production)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1960) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1960) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Comet Video (????) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Pathé  Eastman color by

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG | West Germany:12 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (certificate #19427)

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Ranown Pictures Corp.

Trivia:

Shot in 12 days.

Quotes:

Dobie: A man does one thing, one thing in his life he could look back on... go proud. That's enough. Anyway, that's what my pa used to say.
Frank: He talked all the time, didn't he.
Dobie: Yeah. He was a good man. Sure is a shame.
Frank: Shame?
Dobie: Yeah, my pa. He never did amount to anything.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005) (TV)

Your basic solid western with a twist ending

A magazine article recently cited this movie as an underrated western. I certainly agree. Randolph Scott made his best westerns in the latter part of his career, and this is one of those. The movie examines the old west moral code of right v. wrong and raps up with a surprising twist ending that gives cynicism a kick in the rear end. Not a big splashy western, but a solid little one.