From the onset, this film irritated me. While I love Randolph Scott films, he made a bunch in which the likes of the James gang and other baddies from the old west are elevated to epic proportions. First, it's bad history and second it makes the films dull--who wants to see another one of 192382504508 (give or take 6) such films. Truly this sort of thing is clichéd---VERY clichéd.
The film begins by explaining how a tiny portion of Oklahoma had no law and as a result vicious gangs would hang out in the town of Quinto. Our hero, Randy, was chasing the James and Dalton gangs when his brother (also on the side of niceness) was nearly murdered by one of his own posse! It seems that the rich guy wanted to hang the brother's prisoner without a trial and without so much as a "hey, you", he shot the brother! Well, the James gang comes to the rescue (even though in real life they were evil) and they take the brother back with them to Quinto. Later, when Randolph Scott catches up, he learns from the jerk who shot the brother what supposedly happened and makes his way to Quinto. There, naturally, he meets up with a nice lady (a cliché herself, as she's a 'spunky owner of a newspaper'--a common character in such films). But when Belle Starr (another over-represented character from the old west) shows, both seem to have their eye on Randy.
While Scott is in Quinto, he acts like a western social worker. First, he helps the newspaper owner as the baddies in town are determined to shut her down for good. Second, in a rarity in films, he actually helps the local Indian tribe to receive justice (wow...he forget to shoot them like they'd do in most westerns). What he doesn't realize, however, is that the jerk that shot his brother is now a US Marshall and has reported that Scott and his brother are both bandits!! What is poor old Randy to do?!
"Badman's Territory", despite its many clichés, is not a bad film--nor is a particularly distinguished one. You can't help but like Scott's typical laconic style. But there isn't much else to distinguish this one from the huge crowd of similar films from this era--when it seemed that about 1/3 of all the output from Hollywood were westerns! By the way, there was one really odd thing about this film. Since George Hayes created his old coot persona of 'Gabby' in the mid-late 1930s, this lovable character was ALWAYS a good guy--brave, loyal and good. Here, however, the film begins with him working with the bad guys!! While he's kind of a nice baddie, he IS a law-breaking galoot! This just felt weird...sort of like when Randolph Scott played a baddie in his final film, "Ride the High Country". Weird....very weird.
The film begins by explaining how a tiny portion of Oklahoma had no law and as a result vicious gangs would hang out in the town of Quinto. Our hero, Randy, was chasing the James and Dalton gangs when his brother (also on the side of niceness) was nearly murdered by one of his own posse! It seems that the rich guy wanted to hang the brother's prisoner without a trial and without so much as a "hey, you", he shot the brother! Well, the James gang comes to the rescue (even though in real life they were evil) and they take the brother back with them to Quinto. Later, when Randolph Scott catches up, he learns from the jerk who shot the brother what supposedly happened and makes his way to Quinto. There, naturally, he meets up with a nice lady (a cliché herself, as she's a 'spunky owner of a newspaper'--a common character in such films). But when Belle Starr (another over-represented character from the old west) shows, both seem to have their eye on Randy.
While Scott is in Quinto, he acts like a western social worker. First, he helps the newspaper owner as the baddies in town are determined to shut her down for good. Second, in a rarity in films, he actually helps the local Indian tribe to receive justice (wow...he forget to shoot them like they'd do in most westerns). What he doesn't realize, however, is that the jerk that shot his brother is now a US Marshall and has reported that Scott and his brother are both bandits!! What is poor old Randy to do?!
"Badman's Territory", despite its many clichés, is not a bad film--nor is a particularly distinguished one. You can't help but like Scott's typical laconic style. But there isn't much else to distinguish this one from the huge crowd of similar films from this era--when it seemed that about 1/3 of all the output from Hollywood were westerns! By the way, there was one really odd thing about this film. Since George Hayes created his old coot persona of 'Gabby' in the mid-late 1930s, this lovable character was ALWAYS a good guy--brave, loyal and good. Here, however, the film begins with him working with the bad guys!! While he's kind of a nice baddie, he IS a law-breaking galoot! This just felt weird...sort of like when Randolph Scott played a baddie in his final film, "Ride the High Country". Weird....very weird.