Good concept, poorly executed.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The dates of the civil War stem from 1861 to 1865. In between, half a million men fought and died on both sides. Then Hollywood introduced the Western and then writers quickly retold the history depicting the many facets within the ranks of the two opposing camps. Here is one such story which if you don't look too closely, is interesting and confusing at the same time. The movie is called " Springfield Rifle " and stars one of the most enduring actors to filled the Silver Screen. Gary Cooper plays Maj. Alex 'Lex' Kearney a Union Officer who is cashiered out of the U. S. Army and branded a traitor. The audience however understands his cover as he joins the renegade outlaws who have been stealing herds of horses for the Confederacy. With danger threatening him on both sides, Kearney walks a tight-wire as he seeks out the ringleader of the outlaws. The movie is a cat-and-mouse game and Cooper is aptly supported with other notable western stars like. David Brian, Paul Kelly, Lon Chaney Jr. Alan Hale Jr. and Martin Milner as Pvt. Larsen. The entire cast assembles to provide real shoot-em-up action with the new Springfield Rifle and plenty of hair-raising excitement. Excellent western fare. ****

Depending on what reviews you read of course, Springfield Rifle is either a slowly paced pot boiler or an action packed suspenser. Such is the diversity of this form of the arts, you could easily favour one or the other and nobody could really argue with you. The truth is that André De Toth's film wants to be both, but with an almost dizzying plot and a misleading title, it winds up being an over ambitious picture that doesn't quite pay off on its promise.Gary Cooper stars as Maj. Alex 'Lex' Kearney who gets himself cashiered from the army on a charge of cowardice in order to go undercover to break up a Confederate ring who are stealing horses during the civil war. But Kearney is not the only spy at work so his mission is a touch more complicated than at first thought. Not only that but he is so deep undercover his wife and son believe him to be a real coward and have therefore ostracised him. Oh and the new and war changing Springfield Rifle will have a part to play in the shenanigans.Released in the same year as Cooper was wowing genre fans in High Noon, De Toth's movie does actually feel like an attempt to cash in on the big mans star appeal. However, it should be noted that executives at Warner Brothers didn't want Cooper to play the role, fearing his wholesome image just wouldn't suit a role involving cowardice and double dallying for both parties in the war. De Toth stood by his guns and was rewarded, to my mind, by a film saving performance from Cooper. Frank Davis and Charles Marquis Warren adapt from a story written by Sloan Nibley (who is noted in the genre for his numerous work on Roy Rogers scripts), Max Steiner provides the score and Edwin B. DuPar photographs out of Lone Pine and Warner Ranch in California. The film is not shot in Technicolor {as stated by some reviewers}, it was shot in the Warnercolor process. With the result somewhat pleasing on the eye, notably the uniforms of the soldiers and the flame engulfed sequence towards the finale.The support cast are fair to middling. Lon Chaney Jr. is sadly a shadow of his former self, tho a good old dust up with Cooper raises the temperature. Phyllis Thaxter, David Brian, Paul Kelly & Philip Carey file in and say their lines. While Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams & Alan Hale Jr. deserved more screen time than they actually got. With surprises in the plot and Cooper adding some quality, Springfield Rifle is entertaining enough. But ultimately it ends up being a modest genre piece that really should have been much much better. 6/10

The fight scene between Gary Cooper and Lon Chaney Junior has a sad conclusion. It is supposed to be funny, given the musical score, but climax is a sad reflection of Lon Chaney Junior's career.Seven years before "Springfield Rifle," Chaney Jr. was a leading man for Universal studios. In this film, he is a bumbling villain who gets beat up by Gary Cooper's hero. Chaney's Pete Elm garners more sympathy as a tragic hero when the last shot of "Springfield Rifle" is fired."Springfield Rifle" is a grand movie with an involving story. After his Oscar win earlier in the year (costarring Chaney Jr. again), "Springfield Rifle" is a worthy follow up.

The Springfield Rifle is a fantastic counterespionage story. Sent to the Confederates as a Counterfeit Traitor, Major Lex Kearney (Gary Cooper) penetrates the horse thief ring to uncover the identity of the confederate ring leader. The simple plan is complicated when Major Kearney's son enlists to make good his father's apparent misdeeds and Major's contact is killed. Will the good Major successfully ex-filtrate and prevent the Confederacy from launching its last offensive?Although the title is deceiving, as rifles have comparatively little to do with the story, the plot is fast moving and the tension increases incrementally with each new disaster. The film favorably compares to John Ford's great cavalry trilogy and many of the techniques of Rio Grande seem to have been successfully repeated.