The Kansan (1943) User Reviews (17)

Above Average Western with Wide Open Action and a Good Cast

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 19 June 2015]

Wild Pacing with a lot of Western Movie Ingredients Paraded out for WWII Movie Audiences. Explosives, Gun Battles with many Shooters On both sides, a Sprawling Saloon Brawl that is a Stuntman's Showcase, Cattle Stampede, and more Outlandish Outdoor Shenanigans.

The Wartime Audiences sure got Their Money's Worth with this one. An Aging Richard Dix Shows Heroics, Honor, and Precise Marksmanship, although He is Nicked by incoming Bullets at least Five Times. Albert Dekker is a Dandy Villain and Victor Jory is on hand as an Ambiguous Mysterious Player in all the doings. It's Never Certain where He Stands and that Adds a bit of Intrigue.

Jane Wyatt just Sparkles on screen and is Cute. Overall, a Rousing, Never Boring, Wide Open Western that is Entertaining. Willie Best will Certainly get Noticed as a Racial Stereotype and Comedy Relief, but is shown Respect by the "Good Guys".

Note...There is a Propaganda insertion ("When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again") as WWII was raging on, to boost morale. A musical number that was popular during the Civil War it is here delivered by leggy George Cohan types.

Note 2…The Print shown on TCM in 2015 was washed out and pretty shoddy. One assumes it is the best available. There is no contrast and it has a white-washed look. If it is the best out there, Film-Restorists-Archivists should be on the look out for better source material.

Richard Dix is the best!!!!!

[kidboots · 6/10 · 8 October 2008]

Richard Dix was such a versatile actor and while he could play anything (he even started a series based on "The Whistler" a few years before he died) I think it was Westerns that he was best suited to. "The Kansan" was his last western and the supporting cast reads like a Hollywood Who's Who - Albert Dekker, Eugene Palette, Victor Jory, Robert Armstrong, Willie Best. It might not be from a big studio but the cast is tops!!!

John Bonneville wakes up in hospital, not knowing what has happened to him. He has been made Marshall because he stopped the James Gang from robbing the town bank. He was just passing through and is not too keen on being made a Marshall. Most of the town are eager for him to have a go, especially Eleanor (Jane Wyatt, looking very fetching) who not only nurses him in hospital but also runs the town hotel.

Sheriff Steve Barat (Albert Dekker from "Dr. Cyclops") has bought up a lot of land and is charging huge fees for people wanting to use the roads. When Bonneville's old friend, Tom Waggoner (Eugene Palette) asks him to help get his cattle across, John realises the Sheriff isn't as honest as he thought. He also realises why he was made a Marshall - so he could be just a pawn in the Marshall's scheme. There is a fight in the saloon that is action packed and very realistic. When the two bandits who caused the fight, are released from jail on bail, Waggoner is killed. The Sheriff, who put up the bail plans to ship the bail money to Kansas, with his brother's help. Victor Jory plays Jeff and even though he is at first eager to help his brother (he has gambling debts) he ends up on the right side of the law. His death saves the town.

Robert Armstrong plays Malachy a bandit who helps John and Willie Best plays "Bones" in yet another humiliating depiction of a black man.

Recommended.

The presence of Richard Dix elevates this one...

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 30 November 2011]

This is a decent and generally unremarkable western. But, because it stars Richard Dix, it comes off a bit better. While not a household name, Dix was a very fine actor--mostly because he played a great 'everyman'--a believable and rugged guy who was no pretty-boy. Solid, dependable and making the most of his material, he pretty much makes this film worth watching.

The film begins well, as it's pretty creative. Dix is a stranger in a new town and soon after arriving, there's a bank robbery. He happens to be in the right place at the time and is able to thwart the robbers. He gets them but is injured in the process. Here's the twist--when he awakens, he hears the crowd outside his window celebrating the election of a new sheriff...and that sheriff turns out to be HIM! Too good to be true? Yep. That's because a powerful rich guy has his own reasons for having the stranger become sheriff. Fortunately, Dix's character is on dummy. What's next? See this one yourself.

Overall, not a bad little film. Despite a VERY familiar plot, Dix and some decent baddies (Victor Jory and Albert Dekker) are able to elevate this one to more than just another time-passer.

Slightly Offbeat

[dougdoepke · 13 November 2012]

No need to recap the plot. Though conventional in most respects, this western does have some imaginative wrinkles. The Victor Jory character (Jeff) is a real novelty for the western format. Unlike most oaters, we can't tell where his loyalties lie. His intentions remain something of an enigma, which adds greatly to the plot since we can't be sure what he'll do next. With his unusual looks, Jory is perfectly cast. Then there's the super slick Albert Dekker who uses his extraordinary business guile instead of a six-gun to take over the town. All in all, it's a fine cast of colorful movie veterans, especially the froggish Eugene Palette.

I get the feeling someone in production was aiming for an epic scale western. Consider features like the host of extras, the big shootouts, the massive barroom free-for-all, the cattle stampede that's not all stock shots, along with the well-mounted musical numbers. The trouble is they spent all their money on big events but filmed in the very un-epic LA area scrublands, which gives the visuals a flat, pedestrian appearance. The story may be grandly conceived but the canvas is ordinary, at best. All in all, it's an interesting, slightly offbeat western.

"No iron brother, just hands and feet."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 18 April 2009]

This obscure 'B' Western stands a cut above most with some creative writing and rather good performances by the principals. The film also offers a number of elements that I hadn't seen before after reviewing almost three hundred Westerns in this forum. Though a standard feature for this venue, the barroom brawl here is one of the longest and best staged fights you'll ever see, initiated by cattleman Tom Waggoner's (Eugene Palette) response to a couple of cowpokes who reach for their guns (see my summary line above). Once the fur starts to fly, you'll notice a couple of saloon girls join the action, and they manage to get the upper hand in their respective segments.

Speaking of saloon girls, there was also a spirited song and dance rendition of 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' by an actress who wasn't the female lead, another rarity. For that role, it was a surprise to see Jane Wyatt in an early film appearance, looking rather gorgeous as the hotel manager in Broken Lance. She spends her time in the film balancing her affections between the picture's star, Richard Dix, and Victor Jory, portraying the brother of town boss, Steve Barat (Albert Dekker). Jory always manages to succeed well in his roles, and is one of the few actors who can pull off hero and villain roles just as easily. In this one he straddles the fence for pretty much the entire picture, keeping you guessing on which way he'll turn by the finale. Speaking of which, one gets a fairly good impression that Jory's character didn't make it, but if this was a serial, he would have shown up in the next chapter.

Then there's Willie Best in a comic relief role, used unfortunately to so much of the stereotype of a scaredy cat black man when facing danger. There was also an unfortunate line uttered by John Bonniwell (Dix) when he asked 'Bones' to "Come here boy". This was a pretty common occurrence in pictures of the era, and subliminally comes across as racist. With today's rarefied sense of political correctness, the comment was certainly noticeable, however Bonniwell treated Bones well throughout the rest of the picture.

As for the story, a couple other reviewers do a good job of explaining the basic plot, so I won't dwell on that. With my viewing, I was on the lookout for supporting and uncredited actors that often pop up in these oaters, and "The Kansan" is a gold mine if you pay attention. Robert Armstrong is a Waggoner cattleman behind a mustache, and Rod Cameron is on board as a cowhand. It's easy to miss George Reeves in that quick shoot 'em up opening scene as Jesse James, while Jason Robards Sr. operates as one of Steve Barat's bank tellers. The rest of the uncredited cast holds a whole pile of bit actors whose names pop up in Westerns all up and down the Forties and Fifties.

Good One.

[jetan · 5/10 · 30 September 2010]

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.

The Kansan review

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 12 May 2020]

Richard Dix finds himself elected sheriff of a small town run by land baron Albert Dekker after helping foil a robbery in this B-Western from the '40s. Dekker's the one who had him elected in the expectation that he would become just another of his puppets - but this is Dickie Dix we're talking about, and he's not about to be any man's doormat, even if he does look a little careworn at this stage of his career (death from heart attack was only 6 years away). The widely under-praised Victor Jory plays Dekker's brother, a gambler whose uncertain allegiance to either side makes him by far the film's most interesting character.

Tame Western

[FightingWesterner · 4/10 · 13 March 2010]

Bystander Richard Dix stops a bank robbery by the James gang. Badly injured, he awakens to find himself unwittingly elected the town's new marshal, at the behest of local bank president Albert Dekker, who turns out to be a tyrant who wants Dix firmly under his thumb, a position the marshal has no plans to assume.

The best things about this are the presence of Dix and Dekker, as well as a rowdy saloon fight that has people swinging from chandeliers and rioting uncontrollably. Everything else is too derivative and too mediocre to be memorable.

Look fast for George Reeves as Jesse James.

The voice of the people make him marshal

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 13 February 2012]

The producing/directing team of Harry Sherman and George Archaimbaud who turned out a couple dozen Hopalong Cassidy movies moved away from Hoppy and the Bar 20 to give us The Kansan, an independent film from United Artists. This western stars Richard Dix as the Shane like character who takes a hand in stopping a bank robbery by the notorious James gang. Dix gets good and shot up for his troubles, but while he's on the mend he finds he's been elected town marshal.

Engineering his election is town banker Albert Dekker who has many interests, legal and extralegal and he'd like a gun-hand like Dix as marshal to look after those interests. Dekker has cause for regret as Dix takes the job very seriously. Dix also starts courting Jane Wyatt the local innkeeper.

That doesn't sit well with Victor Jory who is Dekker's brother. But Jory plays a lone hand in life as the film unfolds.

Dix's best years on screen were way behind him when he did The Kansan, but he could and does contribute a solid western characterization and gets solid support from the cast. Eugene Palette as a visiting cattle baron looks a bit lost in the western garb, but he works through it.

Western fans will recognize some distinct plot elements the Cecil B. DeMille classic Union Pacific. If you do you know exactly how The Kansan will end.

Average

[martin-fennell · 5/10 · 13 March 2022]

Average western. The cast are good, particularly Dix and Jory who plays the most interesting character. Best's schtick is pretty uncomfortable to watch.

Excellent Dix Vehicle

[Mike-764 · 9/10 · 31 July 2004]

In Broken Lance, Kansas, John Bonniwell averts the Jesse James gang from holding up the town bank, but is severely wounded in the process. When he awakes in the hospital, he finds that he has been elected town marshall, with high recommendations from the bank owner and leading citizen, Steve Barat. Bonniwell accepts the job (especially after getting an eyeful of the hotel owner Eleanor Sager) even though he knows that he was only appointed to become a pawn in Barat's scheme to bleed Broken Lance, and the Kansas, dry. Bonniwell's position is put to the test when Barat sues Bonniwell's friend Waggoner for running his cattle without paying the $1 a head toll enforced by Barat. When he sees that Bonniwell isn't going to be controlled so easily, Barat has Bonniwell's enemies go after him followed by an attempt by Barat's gambling brother, Jeff (who seems to be playing both sides of the standoff, while in love with Eleanor). Bonniwell then starts to rid Broken Lance of Barat's influence without losing his life, or anyone else's, in the process. Very good western with an excellent script, direction, characterization, and performances by everyone. Dix is right at home as Bonniwell, even though he seems awkward at times. Jory gives one of his best performances as Jeff, and his characterization is very surprising and different from others in the genre. The movie also contains one of the biggest barroom free for alls in any western, with everyone getting into the fracas. Only flaw was the climax was not as action packed as other sequences in the movie, but still a winner all the way. Rating, based on B westerns (this may count as a B+ however), 9.

Corruption

[StrictlyConfidential · 6/10 · 1 December 2021]

"The Kansan" was originally released back in 1943.

Anyway - As the story goes - This B-Western features Richard Dix as lawman John Bonniwell and Jane Wyatt as rancher's daughter Eleanor Sager. Bonniwell becomes the new marshal after he drives the infamous James Gang out of town. He's been chosen by the town big-shot Steve Barat, who hopes to achieve his corrupt ambitions using the marshal as his stooge.

For the most part this was quite an entertaining cowboy picture.

The Kansan

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 12 February 2022]

Wounded while stopping the James gang from robbing the local bank, a cowboy wakes up in the hospital to find that he's been elected town marshal. He soon comes into conflict with the town banker, who controls everything in town and is squeezing the townspeople for every penny he can get out of them.

Preppy little western with some good performances from Richard Dix and Victor Jory; Jory plays a complex character whose motives aren't clear. There are some interesting plot twists, it's unpredictable and classy, though a tendency of melodrama can rear its head, marring the potential of it being an all-out actioner.

Robust Western with good small production values

[whitec-3 · 8/10 · 18 February 2012]

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.

Chock-full of action!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 29 April 2018]

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.

the barroom fight

[Cristi_Ciopron · 9/10 · 29 November 2015]

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.