Albuquerque (1948)

Directed by Ray Enright; produced by William H Pine and William C Thomas

A Texas cowboy (Randolph Scott) travels to the title town in the New Mexico Territory to take up a job offered by his uncle (George Cleveland). Very quickly, however, his eagerness and delight at his new prospects are disappointed by the discovery that his relative is a ruthless and criminal businessman, intent on using whatever means required to maintain and expand his power. In short order, the newcomer switches sides and throws his support behind his uncle’s rivals (Catherine Craig, Russell Hayden).

Though the basic story Albuquerque is fairly routine, it is enlivened by some interesting novelty in the script and a few exciting scenes. Before the inevitable gun-battle at the climax, there is a struggle between the two factions in the town, under-handed and covert tactics distinguishing this conflict from more obvious ones in some other westerns.

The characters are not particularly deep. Scott travels by stage-coach almost three hundred miles to accept from an uncle he hasn’t seen in decades an indefinite job; one suspects that in the book from which the movie is adapted, more of the protagonist’s history is revealed. Unfortunately, such an aspect, if it existed, was not elaborated upon here. It’s telling when the comic relief, portrayed by George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, is one of the more interesting characters.

The cinematography was promising during the opening shot, depicting a vast panorama of desert and mountains, but this is not followed through in the movie itself. Much of the action takes place in a standard ‘western’-style town, except for an exciting wagon ride without brakes down a steep incline. This uses matte-paintings but the direction is capable and makes for a tense moment.

Albuquerque is pretty standard fare, as far as a western film goes, though it has enough to lift it a bit above the average. Scott is always dependable in the lead, and there are some decent scenes and plot twists to propel the story. While I cannot write that it is one of then better examples of its genre - or even one of the better Randolph Scott movies - it will provide a mildly entertaining evening.