Station West is a black-and-white

Black-and-white

Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

 1948

1948 in film

The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...

 film based on a Western novel by Luke Short

Luke Short (writer)

Luke Short was a popular Western writer.Born in Kewanee, Illinois Glidden attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two and a half years and then transferred to the University of Missouri at Columbia to study journalism.Following graduation in 1930 he worked for a number of...

. The film, considered film noir

Film noir

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...

 as well as a Western, was directed by Sidney Lanfield

Sidney Lanfield

Sidney Lanfield was a film director known for directing comedy films and later television programs.The one-time musician's first directing job was for the Fox Film Corporation in 1930; he went on to direct a number of films for 20th Century Fox...

, who was known for directing comedies such as The Lemon Drop Kid

The Lemon Drop Kid

The Lemon Drop Kid is a 1951 comedy film based on the short story of the same name by Damon Runyon, starring Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell, and directed by Sidney Lanfield.The song "Silver Bells," sung by Hope and Maxwell, was introduced in the film...

. Station Wests cinematographer

Cinematographer

A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...

 was Harry J. Wild

Harry J. Wild

Harry J. Wild, A.S.C. was a film and television cinematographer. Wild worked at RKO Pictures studios from 1931 through the 1950s...

. Burl Ives sings the following songs on the soundtrack: "A Stranger in Town," "The Sun's Shining Warm," and "A Man Can't Grow Old."

Plot

Two soldiers have been robbed and murdered while guarding a shipment of gold. Into town rides Haven, a military intelligence officer traveling incognito.

A beautiful saloon singer catches Haven's eye. After he meets Mrs. Caslon, who owns the gold mine, Haven hears that someone called "Charlie" is the brains behind the scenes. He finds out to his surprise that Charlie is the singer.

Charlie's lawyer, Bristow, is $6,000 in her debt and therefore might be involved in the gold theft. Haven beats up Charlie's saloon bouncer in a fight and is offered a job as transport chief for the gold. On the stagecoach, driver Goddard is killed and Haven knocked cold.

Bristow comes to kill him, but Haven gets the upper hand. Bristow is shot by men named Prince and Marion. After persuading the sheriff to arrest him for the crime, Haven escapes, shoots Marion and learns that Charlie's men plan to disguise themselves as military officers to steal more of Mrs. Caslon's gold.

Prince sneaks up intending to shoot Haven, but his bullet hits Charlie instead. Haven does away with Prince and rushes to Charlie's side. She tells Haven she loves him before dying in his arms.

Cast

• Dick Powell
  Dick Powell
  Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
  
   as Haven
• Jane Greer
  Jane Greer
  Jane Greer was a film and television actress who was perhaps best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir Out of the Past.-Career:...
  
   as Charlie
• Agnes Moorehead
  Agnes Moorehead
  Agnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress. Although she began with the Mercury Theatre, appeared in more than seventy films beginning with Citizen Kane and on dozens of television shows during a career that spanned more than thirty years, Moorehead is most widely known to modern audiences...
  
   as Mrs. Caslon
• Tom Powers
  Tom Powers
  Tom Powers was an American stage and film actor. He was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA and died in Hollywood, California, of heart disease.- Career :...
  
   as Capt. George Isles
• Gordon Oliver
  Gordon Oliver
  Gordon Oliver was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in over 45 films and television shows between 1933 and 1972.-Selected filmography:* West of Shanghai...
  
   as Prince
• Steve Brodie
  Steve Brodie (actor)
  Steve Brodie was an American movie and television actor.Born John Stevenson in El Dorado, Kansas, he took his screen name from the Steve Brodie who claimed that he jumped from the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886 and survived...
  
   as 2nd Lt. Stellman
• Guinn Williams
  Guinn Williams (actor)
  Guinn "Big Boy" Williams was an American actor who appeared in memorable westerns such as Dodge City , Santa Fe Trail , and The Comancheros...
  
   as Mick Marion
• Raymond Burr
  Raymond Burr
  Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
  
   as Mark Bristow
• Regis Toomey
  Regis Toomey
  John Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey and attended Peabody High School...
  
   as Jim Goddard
• Burl Ives
  Burl Ives
  Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
  
  as Hotel Clerk/Balladeer