User reviews

This is the true story of the Reno brothers....Clint, a respected farmer, and Frank, Simeon, John, and Bill...who were the first train robbers in American history. Looting, burning and killing, this infamous clan rode through the middle border states setting the pattern for the great outlaw bands which were to follow: the James boys, the Daltons and the Youngers.

The Year 1866, the place is Southern Indiana.

Well not quite Indiana exactly as the film was shot on location at Columbia State Historic Park, and apparently some Western purists see this as a blip on the movies Western worth! (hmm) I don't conspire to that at all since what I want from a B Western such as this is a lush Western feel, with identifiable good and bad guys. I feel that director Tim Whelan achieves the latter and his cinematographer Ray Rennahan achieves the former. Rage At Dawn does have a sense of seen it all before about it, but that's not in detriment to it because it's possibly a picture that has been copied more than it has copied from others before it. It's nice to have a real solid Western using a proper and reliable story to work from. While using top professional actors like Forrest Tucker and J. Carrol Naish to be bad fellas obviously helps the piece; as does having the genre legend that is Randolph Scott as your ebullient good guy. Scott fans who haven't seen the picture should be advised, tho, that he isn't actually in the film for the first third. But as always he's worth the wait and it's clever of Whelan to keep us waiting whilst fully forming the Reno legend.

With some nicely staged set pieces (the train scenes are well worth our time) and a fabulously dark turn of events in the finale that goes against the grain (shadow play supreme at work), this becomes a genre film well worth taking a peek at. 7/10

Footnote: DVD/Public Domain prints of the film are low on quality and do not do justice to the location and costuming. The best print I have seen of this film was on Commercial British TV. Caution is advised on where you source the film from.

"Rage of Dawn" is one of a series of excellent westerns made by Randolph Scott in the 1950s. This one has Scott posing as a train robber in order to infiltrate the Reno Brothers gang in 1866.

The brothers Frank (Forrest Tucker), Sim (J. Carroll Naish) and John (Myron Healey) among others are ambushed during a holdup attempt in which their youngest brother is killed. They suspect an informer. It turns out to be Peterson Detective Agency man Murphy (Arthur Space) who is quickly eliminated. Back at the Peterson office, Mr. Peterson (William Forrest) assigns Monk Paxton (Kenneth Tobey) to the case along with ex-southern spy James Barlow (Scott). They stage a phony train robbery in order to gain the gang's confidence. They then take refuge at Barlow's "uncle's" (Ralph Moody) ranch and await contact from the gang.

Meanwhile, Barlow has become acquainted with the Reno's sister Laura (Mala Powers) and sparks fly. Good Reno brother Clint (Denver Pyle) pleads with Barlow to take his sister "away from all of this". Barlow gets in with the gang and learns that the local Judge (Edgar Buchanan), prosecutor (Howard Petrie) and sheriff (Ray Teal) are involved with the gang.

Barlow sets them up in a train robbery and the Reno Brothers are arrested. Concerned citizens Fisher (Trevor Bardette) and Dedrick (James Lydon) form a lynch mob and go to the jail, overpower the local sheriff (George Wallace) and.......

This has got to be one of the greatest casts of veteran western performers ever to appear in one film. Western lovers will know what I'm talking about. In addition to those mentioned above you'll spot Mike Ragan (aka Holly Bane), Dennis Moore, Chubby Johnson and William Phipps in other roles.

One of Scott's better westerns of the period.

Any movie that has J. Carroll Naish as a cowboy can't be all bad (he's good) and pros like Kenneth Tobey and Edgar Buchanon have a certain "authenticity" that benefits a western. Forrest Tucker could be a good guy or a bad guy as the occasion demanded. Here, he's in his nasty, bad guy mode, pumping lead at people and even burning an informer alive. Tucker heads a gang of notorious robbers, including three of his brothers, that owns the corrupt lawmen of one Indiana county. In order to undo them, Randolph Scott, a resourceful spy, must be infiltrated into the gang. To complicate matters, Tucker and Naish's sister, who disapproves of their illegal ways, falls in love with Scott but is disillusioned when he appears to be an outlaw like them. Almost everything (there is a slight surprise at the end) works out as one would expect. Scott's presence carried many a mediocre western and, with interesting actors supporting him, it happens here but don't expect anything more than variations on a familiar theme.

Pretty standard 50s western fare here...nothing you wouldn't expect.

However, as I grew up in Jackson County, Indiana, it was quite strange to hear the names and the communities from my childhood as the locale of the story.

By the way, whoever wrote the "trivia" for this film has no idea what they're talking about in regards to the "flat plains" of Indiana. The film notes at the beginning this is "Southern Indiana" -- and my home county has some significant hills and very rolling landscape. Central and northern Indiana IS flat. Where this movie takes place is definitely NOT.

After burning an undercover agent alive, outlaw brothers Forrest Tucker, J. Carroll Naish, and Myron Healey are infiltrated again, this time by former Confederate super-spy Randolph Scott, sent by the Peterson (Pinkerton?) Detective Agency. He ends up falling in love with the brother's pretty, law-abiding sister.

A slight cut above some of Scott's usual 1950's B-westerns (the ones not directed by Budd Boetticher), this has really good production values, entertaining heavies, as well as a script with some great hard-boiled moments and bits of nasty (for the 50's) violence. Also, you can't go wrong with Edger Buchanan as a crooked judge!

Scott gives one of his typically tough, yet upright performances, while Tucker and Naish work well together and almost steal the show as the meanest of the Reno brothers.

Randolph Scott plays James Barlow, a Pinkerton agent who goes undercover as an outlaw to infiltrate the Reno brothers gang. A tried and true plot very familiar to anybody who's seen many of the cheap westerns of the '30s. What helps this some is the fine cast. Scott's solid as ever but doesn't show up until twenty minutes in. The brothers are played by J. Carrol Naish, Forrest Tucker, Myron Healey, and Denver Pyle as the law-abiding one. Edgar Buchanan, Ray Teal, and Kenneth Tobey also have supporting roles. Beautiful Mala Powers plays Scott's love interest.

The Reno brothers were real-life outlaws. Their story is loosely told here mixed with the formula plot about the undercover agent who falls in love with the outlaws' sister. It's all pretty standard stuff. The Reno brothers story would be told again the following year in Elvis Presley's film debut, Love Me Tender. That movie was even more historically inaccurate than this one.

This is a well-cast, well-directed, tightly-scripted film (only 87 minutes). The cast is amazing for what had to be a fairly low budget RKO picture from the mid-1950's; Randolph Scott was an established star while Forrest Tucker, J. Carrol Naish, and Denver Pyle were all established, talented Western performers and Edgar Buchanan was one of the best Western character actors of all time. What hurts the movie severely and is its major flaw is the setting. Nothing about one single shot of the film looks anything like Southern Indiana or anywhere else in the Midwest, and exactly like California, where it was actually shot. This lack of authenticity is distracting, in some scenes more than others, but never completely destroys the fine performances. Like some of the others, I would like to know more about the historical Reno Brothers and how closely this film represents their true story; I'm sure that it's somewhat closer than Elvis' ''Love Me Tender'', which is about the same topic and came out the next year.

Released in 1955 and directed by Tim Whelan, "Rage at Dawn" stars Randolph Scott as a special agent sent to Indiana to infiltrate the notorious Reno Gang, who carried out the first three peacetime train robberies in the USA. The stolen money was largely never recovered. Forrest Tucker plays the top member of the gang, Frank, while Mala Powers plays the honest sister of the brothers, Laura, whom Scott's character decides to romance.

There's only one other movie based on the exploits of the Reno Gang, which was Elvis' debut film "Love Me Tender," released the year after "Rage at Dawn." "Rage" is more faithful to the true story, although the special agent played by Scott is fictitious and Laura, while not part of the gang, wasn't squeaky clean as depicted, plus she was loyal to her brothers. But the movie's accurate in that Clint Reno (Denver Pyle) refused to be part of the gang and was called Honest Clint, not to mention the notorious ending is faithful to history, albeit no one was apprehended for the "crime" (I'm being ambiguous because I don't want to give it away).

Scott is at his charismatic best here as he romances a girl that's clearly younger than half his age. Randolph was 56 during filming whereas cutie Mala was 23 (!), but this is okay once you understand that Scott's character is supposed to be around 35 (even though he looks like he's at least 50). Forrest Tucker is also great as the malevolent Frank Reno.

Unfortunately, the obvious California locations ruin the movie because the story's set in the Ohio River region of Indiana, Missouri and surrounding areas, which look nothing like California. Moreover, the last act isn't very engaging despite the action; it somehow loses the interest attained in the first two acts. Still, "Rage at Dawn" is one of only two movies based on the Reno Gang and it's the more accurate of the two; not to mention the principle actors are great.

The movie runs 87 minutes and was shot in Columbia, Sonora & Chico, California.

GRADE: C+

This is yet another exceptional Randolph Scott western. Considering how many wonderful films he made in the 1950s, I certainly wasn't surprised that I liked this one.

In a couple ways, however, this film is a bit unconventional. First, Scott doesn't even appear in the film until about 20 minutes into the film! Until then, it consisted of showing the exploits of an outlaw gang in Indiana--a very hilly and California-like version of Indiana (where n real life I'd heard the highest elevation is reportedly 9 inches above sea level). Second, the ending is just plain bizarre--not at all bad, but really caught me by surprise and won't be something the average person could predict. I mention this because although the main plot of the film isn't that unusual (I've seen many similar to it), the thing is handled so well and offers some nice twists that make it well worth seeing--in addition to Scott's usual seemingly effortless performance.

Scott enters the film when he's recruited to infiltrate an evil gang that isn't exactly in the old west, but Southern Indiana (I lived just over the boarder--believe me, this is NOT a typical locale for a western). However, as you'd expect, there is a nice and semi-innocent girl who gets tossed into the mix--making Scott wonder if it's possible for him to do his job and the girl...I mean, get the girl.

Overall, the film is well acted and directed as well as a lot of fun. Plus, it helps that the supporting actors (such as Forrest Tucker and J. Carroll Naish) are so good. Worth seeing--and a must-see if you love the genre.

This is a very-much copied western which belongs technically to the category of Randolph Scott westerns; this large and interesting body of work itself should be divided I suggest into the 1940s B/W series, and the 1950s color series; this is one of the earlier color efforts, an expensive-looking production but with somewhat inconsistent color. In several of his better efforts, Scott's role was that of a law officer or detective infiltrating some group of schemers. The story-line here is a fictionalized biography by veteran Frank Gruber, with screenplay by Horace McCoy, detailing the events of the Reno Brothers' gang and their train robberies performed in rural Indiana c. 1866. Scott's character is Barlow, a veteran Southern spy with impressive credentials. When their agent operating with the gang is murdered (after the gang is set up for capture), the Peterson Detective Agemcy sends for Scott to work with agents Kenneth Tobey and Ralph Moody to infiltrate the gang himself. Their device is a staged train robbery faked by the team, and the promise of a $100,000 payoff in the future. The ruse works; Scott is accepted by the gang, including Frank Reno, its leader, played strongly by Forrest Tucker. But immediately Scott finds he has problems. One of the Reno family, Denver Pyle, has nothing to do with the crimes and Scott falls in love with Mala Powers, his sister, who is bitter and unhappy; of course when he turns out to be just another bank robber, she turns against him, despite their obvious attraction and his courtly manners. From this point on, Scott helps the others pull an unremunerative robbery and becomes Tucker's rival to be the head of the gang. Between runs to town to report to his partners, he also is introduced to the three inside men in the town from which the gang operates--played by fine actor Howard Petrie, Edgar Buchanan and "Bonanza's" TV sheriff talented Ray Teal. Despite setbacks, the entrapment of the gang works. In a long and well-done shootout, several of the gang are killed, along with Scott's partner. He is then free to reveal his the role he has been playing all along. Powers tries to shoot him at night, but she comes nowhere close and ends up in his arms. Then Pyle comes to warn the detectives that a mob has been formed, led by smooth-talking Trevow Bardette and Jimmy Lydon. Scott tries has to ride off to try to save the gang from being lynched. The film's ending is downbeat but historically accurate, bringing to the end a memorable adventure tale that might have been made differently but is very lively and well-made exactly as it is. The other members of the gang are Myron Healey and powerful J. Carroll Naish, plus others, with George Wallace as the sheriff of Seymour and William Phipps, Chubby Johnson and Holly Bane in smaller roles. Director Tim Whelna did a solid if unspectacular job of directing a very difficult film, with day, night, action, dialogue, interior, exterior and battle scenes. The cinematography by Ray Rennahan and the music by Paul Sawtell are very fine, and Walter E. Keller's art direction is above average also. I enjoy this Scott western as a transitional work and for its attempts to make a true-to-life historical fictionalized biography, for the mostly-implied-level idea on which characters interact in this swift-moving adventure, and for the authentic look and feel of the work. A very entertaining film by anyone's standards.

It is more than twenty minutes into the movie before its star Randolph Scott makes his appearance and his lean craggy presence gives a decided lift to proceedings .He plays an undercover agent sent to pose as a train robber and infiltrate the Reno brothers gang who -aided by corrupt local officials -are wreaking havoc in Indiana .He then persuades the gang to embark on a train robbery with a view to entrapping them . The script is by the cult pulp crime novelist Horace McCoy and is based on a story by another feted pulpster ,Frank Gruber, and it is slick and efficient with solid performance from a sturdy supporting cast which includes dependable performers like Forrest Tucker ,and J Carroll Naish as two of the Reno brothers Handsome photography and the brisk direction of Tim Whelan are distinct assets and the historically accurate finale ends proceedings on a gritty and powerful note as frontier justice takes over from the rule of law .

A good little movie which Western devotees will like

This was one of the last movies that Randolph Scott made before he joined with Budd Boetticher as director to make his best films. It is still a good one and Tim Whelan did a good job in his last years.

One of the interesting things in the film about catching the predecessors to the James boys, the Daltons and the Youngers, was the references to voting. The ladies were saying that someday they would get the vote and they would have the scum running the town that harbored the Renos. It was interesting watching this on the anniversary of the 1915 vote by the House to keep denying women the right to vote.

Golden Globe nominee Mala Powers was excellent as the Reno sister that had to choose between what was right and her brothers. Of course, she was easy pickings for the smooth talking Scott.

Lots of shooting and western fun for those that like that, but with Scott you always get some great acting.

Yet another western set in the aftermath of the Civil War, evidently made much more cheaply than in Randy Scott's forties' heyday and played for drama rather than thrills aided by a screenplay by Horace McCoy and atmospheric photography by Raymond Rennahan.

Scott makes nearly half an hour to make his first appearance, the emphasis till then squarely on the shrewd and vicious Reno brothers, who early on display atrocious table manners (Forrest Tucker actually drinking from his plate), while Mala Powers is as gorgeous as J. Carroll Naish is ugly. Edgar Buchanan is his usual laconic self as a cynical, cheroot-chewing judge.

Randy Scott goes undercover to bring the dastardly Reno brothers to justice, and manages to fall for their feisty sister as he does so. Based on real incidents, Tim Whelan's mid-1950s programmer probably bears little resemblance to the true facts. Scott's his usually chipper self, his character loaded with a self-confidence that never tips over into arrogance or conceit; he has no doubts, no fear and a single-mindedness of purpose that is downright robotic. The bad guys – a band of brothers terrorising the Indiana countryside – are more interesting; they're stereotypical baddies in one sense, but they share for the most part a sense of duty to one another. Their sister is a real Maureen O'Hara type – only she's not played by Maureen O'Hara, which is a shame because Maureen might at least have bought some fire to the role. Edgar Buchanan as a corrupt judge is also good fun, but overall this modest little western fails to impress.

While Randolph Scott enjoys first billing, as he does in all his westerns, he doesn't even show up for the first half hour of Rage at Dawn! And let me tell you, it's a very slow, painful half hour without him. The Reno brothers (Forrest Tucker, J. Carrol Naish, and Myron Healey) rob a bank in a small western town and return to their hideout with their sister, Mala Powers. No one can catch them, and finally, federal agents pull out the big guns: Scottie McScottie Pants.

Scottie goes undercover with Edgar Buchanan to pretend to be a great bandit himself, so the group of brothers will want to join his gang. He stages a fake train robbery, earns a bad reputation, and moves to the same small town with an obvious alias as a painter. He starts flirting around with Mala but she doesn't know his real identity. Will it change everything when she finds out he's out to trap her brothers? You can rent this one to find out, but I don't really recommend it. Randolph Scott made so many westerns, and many of them are better than this one. Try The Bounty Hunter or Riding Shotgun.

Have said a number of times in the past, a few recently but mostly some years back, that while Westerns is not my favourite film genre there is still appreciation for it (which is true for all non-favourite film genres) and there are many great films in it. There are also a number of stars considered iconic in all genres, and Randolph Scott is an actor that immediately springs to mind when it comes to talking about Westerns. Especially his work with Budd Boetticher.

'Rage at Dawn' is one of Scott's Western films not directed by Boetticher or Andre De Toth, who were relatively regular directors, instead directed by Tim Whelan (a regular for Harold Lloyd and Harry Langdon and a co director of one of my favourite films 'The Thief of Baghdad'). It is not one of Scott's best and personally would not put it on the best Western films list, but it is far from being one of the worst on both counts. While not a great film, 'Rage at Dawn' is a good film and worth seeing for anybody wanting to see all of Scott's work or a Western completest.

There are admittedly not many surprises in a story that is quite conventional, with one notable exception.

While the locations are nice, they are also obvious in their lack of authenticity. The action could have been a little more exciting in parts.

On the other hand, Scott commands the screen effortlessly right from his relatively late entrance to his last second, the cragginess, authority and grit captivating. Forrest Tucker, J Carroll Naish and Edgar Buchannan are very strong support in roles perfectly suited to them. Mala Powers is on the bland side but not bad enough to drag the film down. The characters are interesting and written well. Whelan directs dependably, even though not a specialty genre for him.

It looks good, regardless of the lack of authenticity the locations are nice and it is very slickly and stylishly photographed. The music doesn't overbear or intrude. The script is tight and intelligent, as well as suitably uncompromising. While lacking in excitement at times, the story on the whole does absorb and has great gritty atmosphere. The ending is surprising and unusual.

Concluding, not great but lots to admire here. 7/10.