A Lawless Street (1955)

The Marshal (Randolph Scott) of a small town is a target for gunslingers who want to prove they're faster than he is. The owner (Warner Anderson) of the town music hall hires a gunslinger (Michael Pate) to kill the Marshal so that he can take over the town. The arrival of the Marshal's estranged wife (Angela Lansbury) has him rethinking his place in the town. Directed by Joseph H. Lewis (THE BIG COMBO), this is yet another western where one man attempts to enforce the law all by himself while the rest of the town cowardly look the other way (think HIGH NOON). It's not a bad western, just routine. It dutifully goes through its paces without any surprises or originality. Western fans will probably be more tolerant of it than others.  The following year Scott would hook up with director Budd Boetticher and together make a series of superb westerns between 1956 and 1960. With Jean Parker, John Emery, Ruth Donnelly and Wallace Ford.