User Reviews

"City of Bad Men" refers to the large numbers of undesirables in Carson City for the 1897 Corbett/Simmons heavyweight championship fight. The fight though, only serves as the backdrop for the main story.

Brett Stanton (Dale Robertson), his brother Gar (Lloyd Bridges)and their gang (John Doucette, Leo Gordon, Rodolpho Acosta and Pascuel Garcia Pena) are returning from Mexico where they had been mercenaries. They ride into Carson City and discover that the aforementioned prize fight is about to take place. Brett soon hatches a plan to steal the box office receipts from the fight.

Two other gang leaders have the same idea, Johnny Ringo (Richard Boone) and Bob Thraikill (Don Haggerty). The town sheriff (Hugh Sanders) and his deputies (Carl Betz, James Best) try to keep the peace. The sheriff convinces Brett, Ringo and Thraikill to become deputies in order to keep a lid on things until after the fight.

Meanwhile, Brett looks up the girl he left behind, Linda Calligan (Jeanne Crain) and discovers that she is now engaged to fight promoter Jim London (Whitfield Connor). London's sister Cynthia (Carole Mathews) sets her sights on Brett.

Then as the fight begins the "bad men" make their move and.......................

This film was one of many compact 80 minute Technicolor westerns turned out by the studios in the early 1950s. The ones made by Fox usually starred Dale Robertson, Rory Calhoun or both. This one has the proverbial cast of thousands representing the crowds gathering for the fight which unfortunately, we see little of. The cast is filled with many recognizable western faces which adds to the enjoyment of the film.

The love triangle is of little interest since the Roberson character rejects both of the ladies through most of the picture. In fact, top billed Crain who doesn't appear until well into the film, has little to do. But beware of the typical "Hollywood ending" which makes little sense given what had transpired earlier in the film.

All in all, it's worth a look.

This was the first of three western films that Dale Robertson made with editor-turned-director Harmon Jones. The first two pictures were produced at Robertson's home studio 20th Century Fox. When Robertson moved over to Universal a few years later, Jones went with him. Ten years later, Jones would also direct an episode of Robertson's western TV series, Iron Horse.

When a star feels comfortable with a director, he delivers a confident performance. Robertson was comfortable with the western format and would become associated with this particular genre.

Leading lady Jeanne Crain is a bit less at ease as a western star, though she does her best. This was the last assignment Miss Crain had under her original contract at Fox. Her popularity had waned and her two most recent films at the studio were not hits. After ten years, she was let go in a cost-cutting measure. She would freelance, signing a multi-picture deal at Universal where she went on to make a few more westerns.

Jeanne Crain did not headline her own weekly television series like so many stars did in those days when movie offers dried up. By the mid-60s her screen appearances were infrequent. She did a disaster flick in the early 70s before calling it quits.

The story for CITY OF BAD MEN focuses more on Robertson than it does on Crain. As the title suggests, it's about a growing community-- Carson City-- that attracts a group of rough characters. The roguish bad men are all crooks with designs on a $100,000 payout. This does not involve robbing a stagecoach or robbing a bank. Instead, a big match is scheduled between real-life boxers Jim Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons. With tickets set at $15 per person (a huge sum for 1897), it's an event that draws wealthy spectators from miles around.

Robertson and his brother (Lloyd Bridges) breeze into Carson City to get their hands on all that dough. They're up from Mexico, and we learn Robertson had lived in the area six years ago and at that time was romantically involved with Crain. She's moved on with another guy, a well-to-do businessman, because her heart was broke after Robertson left and didn't come back. Obviously, they have unfinished business and are still in love with each other.

In addition to these issues, there is the matter of a rival gang. More bad men, led by Richard Boone who never plays respectable law-abiding citizens in these types of motion pictures. Somehow, the sheriff convinces Robertson and Boone to work for him as deputies, to keep their men in line so the match will go off without a hitch. Of course, the plot is a bit contrived but it's interesting to see the so-called bad men work for the law, while still coveting the money that is spent on the big fight.

We know Robertson will go straight, so he can end up with Crain before the final fadeout. And that Boone won't go straight, and will end up dead. But these predictable elements don't detract from one's enjoyment of the film as a whole. There are some taut action sequences. The boxing scenes are fairly engaging. And the romance drama portion of the story pulls us in, since Crain and Robertson do share a palpable chemistry.