The Marshal of Madrid

Two episodes of the short lived TV series spliced together, a bit disjointed when viewed, the first notable mainly for an interesting performance by Bobby Darin as a fruitcake who imagines he's 'Billy the Kid', ends abruptly then goes into the second unrelated story with versatile character actor James Gregory as the bad guy. Glenn Ford plays Marshal Sam Cade with Edgar Buchanan as his number one deputy, Edgar was getting on by now, but good to see him in a more serious role than normal! Ford is his usual laid back self as an early 'Longmire' type modern day cowboy! The series was popular but didn't last long probably because of Ford's movie commitments?

I remember the opening scene of this CADE'S COUNTY spin off film, when I saw it fifty four years ago, when I was a child. This outlaw on horseback pulling an armored tuck heist with a bazooka...For the rest, it remains a simple CADE'S COUNTY on a longer length, that's all. But now, fifty four years later, as a movie buff, I watch it again because it is an early Richard Donner's stuff. The outlaw - hoodlum on horseback - character is rather unusual for a villain. But then this movie episode seems to turn in another direction, for another plot; two different plots into only one, no connections between the two. Very strange, they could have made two different episodes. Anyway, James Gregory is good here as the local villain.

In the early 1970s, Glenn Ford starred in a sportlived TV series called "Cades County". "The Marshal of Madrid" consists of two episodes from this series.

The first episode was originally called "A Gun for Billy" and it's a pretty stupid episode...which makes you wonder why they included this in the movie. Bobby Darin stars as a real wacky ex-con who was just released from prison and he is very delusional...thinking he's a modern Billy the Kid. I say 'modern' because when he robs an armored car, he uses a bazooka!!

A huge mistake in the show (other than the silly plot) is that the prison psychiatrist says that the suspect (Darin) is schizophrenic....which means he has a split or multiple personality. This is NOT what schizophrenia is...it's very disorganized thinking and a schizophrenic would rarely have the mental wherewithall or desire to commit any complex crimes.

This one is a real shame, as Bobby Darin was a very talented actor...when he's given decent material. See him in "Captain Newman, MD" and you'll see what I mean. But this episode is just silly...stupid in fact and made me feel a bit embarrassed watching it. I'd give this particular portion of the movie a 2 or perhaps 3...no better.

The second episode they used was "Crisscross". After a bar fight, one of the beligerents was found stabbed and a man is found standing over the body. At first, it appears as if he killed the man but soon it appears that there is far more to the case...and it involves the exploitation of illegals to harvest crops on a nearby farm. And, not surprisingly, these exploited illegals are afraid to talk to the police.

This second episode is a much more welcome addition to the movie. While it's not fantastic, it is timely and worth seeing.

Overall, a real mixed bag...with a terrible first half and a decent second half.