John T. Ryan NOT THAT STAR Gary Cooper couldn't handle a film of the Western genre, we can't help but wonder if this entry into Warners' considerable inventory of "oaters" wasn't perhaps an older, unused project that may well have been intended for Errol Flynn. Coop was certainly up to the occasion and did keep us interested.COMPLEMENTIG THE MAIN character in fine, true support are some of the guys who are synonymous with Warner Brothers. Although cast somewhat against type and somewhat hidden behind some extensive facial hair, we find no less than: Raymond Massey, Jerome Cowan and Steve Cochran. Added to this group, we find one of our favourites, Reed Hadley as Wild Bill Hickok, no less.THE STORY IS an amalgam of types as far as mood goes; an element that s common in many WB pictures. Looking back and in retrospect, it must have been successful and served the studio well.PLENTY OF WHIMSY and a total disregard for any historical accuracy are hallmarks that somewhat echo events portrayed in THE OKLAHOMA KID ("Sooners" settling the former Indian territory), DODGE CITY (Railroad coming West), THE SANTA FE TRAIL ("Bleeding Kansas" & John Brown), THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON (George Armstrong Custer). It also added DALLAS to the lit of pictures named after particular cities; e.g., CASABLANCA, DODGE CITY, VIRGINIA CITY.WE WERE WONDERING if Jack Warner & Company ever did one called "BAKERSFIELD?"

jacobs-greenwood Directed by Stuart Heisler, and written by John Twist, this needlessly complex and talky Western with a B movie feel that includes some comedy (intentional or otherwise) might please only fans of its lead actor Gary Cooper, who plays a familiar role as a wronged man waging a solo battle of revenge.Coop plays Blayde 'Red' Hollister, a Confederate army officer who'd headed west after the Civil War to find and kill those responsible for torching his home and killing his family in Georgia. He's pretty sure it was the Marlow brothers, but he needs proof to satisfy his personal code before he can exact his revenge. Steve Cochran and Raymond Massey play Brant and Will Marlow, respectively (Zon Murray appears uncredited as the third).The Marlows have setup shop in and around the growing, relatively new titled Texas city. Will has established himself as the town's banker while his brothers and their henchman rustle cattle to prevent Will's clients from being able to pay their mortgages, so that Will can then seize their lands. One such family that's falling prey to Marlow's land grab scheme is the Robles: patriarch Don Felipe (Antonio Moreno), his lovely daughter Tonia (Ruth Roman), and son Luis (Gil Donaldson), who'd been shot and injured by Brant, the brother that 'respectable' Will can barely keep under 'control'.The story actually begins in retiring Marshal Wild Bill Hickok's (Reed Hadley) town, where the lawman come actor stages a shootout with his 'friend' Hollister in which he pretends to kill him, enabling the rebel to assume another identity in order to freely pursue those that killed his kin. Lucky for Hollister, an eastern dandy named Martin Weatherby (Leif Erickson) had just arrived on the stagecoach from Boston to become Dallas's U.S. Marshal. Since the real Weatherby is hardly qualified for the job at hand, he allows Hollister to pretend to be him for a time, which causes complications when it inadvertently begins a love triangle with his fiancée Tonia.Several chase sequences on horseback and requisite shootouts are included in the action, but there's no real drama nor question as to whether Cooper's character will get his man/men and the girl. The showdown between Hollister and Brant is ludicrous enough - he uses a cat to force the killer to reveal himself - but the final showdown is exceedingly tedious: in a darkened fireplace lit room, Hollister throws objects, taunts and counts bullets while Will fires wildly until he's out whereupon he rushes the pre-locked door so the two can wrestle until (guess who) prevails.Barbara Payton plays Brant's girlfriend Flo, who's not only frustrated with having to live in a dusty remote hideout with a bunch of bandits but also with the lack of brain power her man exhibits when he enables the captured Cooper-Weatherby character to talk his way into an escape. Jerome Cowan plays a townsman Matt Coulter and Will Wright appears uncredited as Dallas Judge Harper.

jarrodmcdonald-1 The cast is perfectly chosen, and Warners' Technicolor production values are top-notch. It's one of Gary Cooper's best westerns of the 1950s, and that's saying a lot, because he made several good ones during this particular decade. What works so well is the interplay between Cooper and Leif Erickson who play men on opposites sides of the law that switch places. The story isn't as contrived as it sounds, and there is some excellent humor in the situations the performers mine like gold, without overplaying. Ruth Roman was never photographed more beautifully than she is in this picture, and it's easy to see why two strong-willed men would be vying for her attention. Raymond Massey is on hand as the villain, and this time he enacts wicked schemes with an equally villainous younger brother (Steve Cochran). Cochran's role is written with less comedy than the others, but even he manages to bring out the more humorous aspects of his character's situation without being too gimmicky. There are several brilliant sequences, but perhaps the best one involves Cooper, Cochran and a black cat on a nighttime street that leads to a killing.

LeonLouisRicci The Bland and Take No Chances Decade of the 1950's Announced itself with Things like this. It was Things like this that Inspired Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher to Reconsider the Western. This Movie is an Elite Effeminate Opposite of the Down and Dirty Wild West with its Dandy Costumes and Villains out of Central "Cliched" Casting from all of those B-Westerns.Just because it has an A-List Production and Gary Cooper in the Lead, don't expect anything Exceptional. In Fact, this is Unexceptional in just about every way. OK, there's the Color, Let's Give it that. But the Script is pure Corn Fritters, with Dialog that can Raise Howls, and Cowpoke Behavior Only Overlooked by the Kiddies.How about the Scene with the Cat? Or Perhaps, the "Exciting", Final Shootout that takes Place, wait for it, in a Living Room. In said Parlor, "Coop" carries on One of those Finale Contrived Conversations as He Belittles the Villain and Counts Down the Number of Bullets."Whadda ya want me to do, count three like in the Movies?"- Canino from "The Big Sleep" (1947).Silly, but Entertaining bit of Nonsense, but if You Like Your Westerns with some True Grit, Look Elsewhere.