Station West

If Dore Schary is contemplating revenge for the rough handling he got from RKO's crusty new boss, Howard Hughes, he can forget it. For "Station West," one of the last pictures Schary made at RKO before his collision with Hughes, will certainly accomplish any dark purpose he may have in mind. It stinks and it will make Mr. Hughes squirm like a rattlesnake on a lot stove.

The story, a glorified opera for horses, which no one in his right mind would grace with the name plot, is labyrinthine in its complexity. It concerns a hard-bitten young army officer who travels west under sealed orders to trace a pair of murders. He can never quite put his finger on the killers, so he shoots a dozen extras just to make sure. Sandwiched in between the first and the last shot are a vicious flat fight, a barn-burning, and the seduction of a bosomy young woman at the almost incredible range of thirty feet. There is also some business about stolen army uniforms and gold thieves which escaped this reviewer.

The talents of a very fine cast are completely wasted in this poorly written and miserably directed show. Dick Powell, who makes an excellent "T-" and an even better "G-man," plays the tough officer convincingly. He has a certain feel for a part that calls for a bone-crushing fight. But Mr. Powell is no cowboy and the required high-heeled boots probably give him blisters. Agnes Moorehead, a star of great magnitude, has been given a silly bit that is beyond even her ability to salvage. She plays a supposedly sympathetic character, but the direction and the dialogue unfortunately make her seem alternately sexy and evil. Jane Greer performs as a woman saloon-owner oddly named Charlie. She is gorgeous, which sums up what is required of her. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Miss Greer caught a slug in the tummy and batted those beautiful brown eyes for the last time.