Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend

A tall, lean, steely-eyed stranger who saves a town is a staple of sagebrush sagas. But a tall, lean, steely-eyed, town-saving Quaker is something unexpected, especially when he's played by Western icon Randolph Scott. In this entertaining mix of action and comedy, Scott portrays an ex-Union officer who heads west with two army buddies. When the men's clothes are stolen, local Quakers offer to cover their embarrassment with plain garb. Thus disguised as devout Quakers, the ex-soldiers arrive in nearby Medicine Bend, determined to find the thieves who pilfered their pants and also free the townsfolk from the grasp of a corrupt businessman. Scott has fine support from two actors on the brink of stardom: Angie Dickinson (Point Blank) plays the town beauty, and james Garner, just months before he rose to fame on TV's Maverick, portrays one of the army buddies, hard put to maintain Quaker rectitude in the presence of a shapely gal.

• western