comanche station (budd boetticher, 1960)

I'm taking on another challenge. This one is The Criterion Challenge 2025. It's the fifth annual, my first try. "There are 52 categories. The goal is to watch any Criterion released film based on the categories ... between 1/1/25-12/31/25." There is no specified order, so I'll watch them as I get to them. Today's category is North American film.

The final film in the Ranown series of Westerns directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. Criterion released five of them in a box set, and you can see why. These are short pictures, B-movies really, made on low budgets but with plenty of talent behind the camera and the commanding presence of Scott on screen. They work as a group, even if they weren't exactly intended that way ... you could watch Criterion's box and never feel like any particular movie jolted you out of your viewing pleasure. The pleasures are minor, though. These are not grandiose, and the themes, while evident, do not beat you over the head. If you enjoy Westerns, these are like comfort food, a little better than a typical television series but not enough better that you'd notice if you weren't paying attention. I'm talking about the group rather than the movie, because Comanche Station isn't a lot better or a lot worse than the others. Claude Akins does nicely as the heel ... the heels in the Ranown cycle are often fun to watch and not completely evil. The Native Americans are stereotypically bloodthirsty. And Randolph Scott lends his authority, as he does in all the pictures.