Written by / 8/10/2018 / No comments / , , , , , , ,

RANDOLPH SCOTT & LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'BADMAN'S TERRITORY'

Lawrence Tierney gets scant screen-time, but looks cool YEAR: 1946
George "Gabby" Hayes is a Cinematic National Treasure; it's too bad his obnoxious, notice-me, gummy-mouthed role wasn't buried in an otherwise half-decent if strangely paced, offbeat Western misleadingly titled BADMAN'S TERRITORY, after a strip of purgatory between Indian land and where no white man law and order exist...

Thus Randolph Scott and tacked-on younger brother fit like loose, leafy gloves, and it takes a while to figure out why these seemingly stalwart heroes are hanging out with The James and Dalton Gangs, which adds to the overall uneven cadence that only sporadically attempts the kind of swift action the Western genre relies on. Leaving one desperate hope in our man Lawrence Tierney who plays, of all people, Jesse James himself; ironic since he'd become famous as another folk-hero outlaw in DILLINGER three years earlier (his moll Anne Jeffreys appears in the BADMAN'S sequel)...

Warner Archive Blue MOVIE SCORE: **1/2
Much of the picture involves progressive newspaper woman Ann Richards' quest to calm the waters of an already stagnant locale. It's fine enough she can stand up to any man, ala Barbara Stanwyk, even when falling reluctantly with Scott's intentionally passive-aggressive lawman. But her pivotal significance, along with too much filler dialogue, makes this villainous town feel safer and more at-home than Walnut Grove...

On the other hand, and the brighter side, in this first review (second for August) written since losing two pints of blood at the hospital, there's a few neat gunfights and one quick horse race, both filmed pretty well. In fact the best direction occurs during the first act as the camera sweeps across Main Street — the townspeople flowing along to witness our somewhat benign hero face-off with a half-ass, politically-motivated heavy that adds more cushion to what should have been a bed of bloody nails. The BADMAN'S talgine should be: Here Slept Jesse James... And Quite Peacefully.  
Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

DEFENDING THE BREEZY SEQUEL 'BREAKIN 2': ELECTRIC BOOGALOO'

Title: BREAKIN' 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO Year: 1984 Rating: *** Cannon Films' BREAKIN' 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO  was rushed out the same...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "Yeah, and the devil serves lemonade, right?" David Proval, Kojak

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)THE BREAK 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)JUNGLE STREET 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)MODEL SHOP 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6)CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

Most Popular Last Year