Best of the Badmen

This thrilling western deals with an Union Mayor called Clanton (Robert Ryan) who is wrongly accused for a killing ,he is then condemned to death. He escapes and becomes involved with the most famous outlaws (Bruce Cabot, Walter Brennan, John Archer , Robert Wilke,Lawrence Tierney,Jack Buetel) from the wild west. Clanton is wanted for murders, reward : 5ooo dollars . He is wanted dead or alive . The nasty Fowler leads a bloody manhunt against Clanton . This is an epic as well as stirring thrill parade down banditry halls of infamy . Concerning the worst bushwackers of the untamed western who execute a rampage of murders and terror . There also appears the lady they called Lily (Claire Trevor). Meanwhile they execute a bank robbery protected by a detective agency run by corrupt enemy , Fowler (Robert Preston)

An epic saga of a land beyond the law starred by star-studded, inclusive cowboy actors, great personalities and many other things. An exciting and explosive flick in which action and thrills are unstoppable . The tale starts with a prologue that explains the following : this story tells a forgotten chapter in the violent history of the west , months after the tragic war between The States had ended there was still no peace on the western frontier. The plot is plain and simple taking place post American civil War where bushwackers and Jayhawkers carry out real and violent rampages and ravages . Here shows up a lot of bandits as Cole Younger, Jim Jounger , Jesse James , Frank James , Ringo and Clanton . All of them starred by known actors who give compelling interpretations such as Bruce Cabot , Jack Buetel , John Archer , Lawrence Tierney , Tom Tyler, Robert Wilke , John Cliff , and Robert Ryan . And the comical relief for the sympathetic secondary Walter Brennan .This one belongs to a trilogy formed by the original Badmen territory 1946 by Tim Whelan with Randolph Scott , Anne Richards , Steve Brodie , George Gabby Hayes ,Return of the bad Men 1948 by Ray Enright with Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan , George Hayes . All of them starred by by notorious bandits of the wild west and performed by prestigious secondary players.

The motion picture was compellingly directed by William Russell , though it has some flaws and gaps . Russell directed a few films as The Sainted Sisters, Our Heart were growing up, Ladies' man , Dear Ruth and a lot of television series .The picture will appear to western buffs . Well worth watching.

This film is not like your typical Western from the past, it has a very interesting story about the Quantrill Raiders from the South after the Civil war in the states. These Quantrill Raiders were still fighting the Civil War when it was over quite awhile ago, they meet up with Robert Ryan, (Jeff Clanton) a soldier in the Northern Army and he knows most of these Raiders and tries to help them get clemency from their war crimes. The Jesse James gang has joined up with the raiders and Lawrence Tierney, "Dillenger", plays the role of Jesse James. Robert Preston, (Matthew Flower) plays a carpetbagger who runs a Detective Agency and is out to kill Jeff Clanton, who is a lover of his wife, Claire Trevor,(Lily); and knows that Matt Flower is a crooked man out to make himself a fortune on capturing men who are Wanted and cash in on their reward money. Walter Brennan, (Doc Butcher) gives a great supporting role and lots of laughter. Great Western, enjoy.

Don't mistake this for a great or even good movie for a second. It's full of clichés, unrealistic situations, fudged history, characters whose motives and emotions seem to change at the drop of a hat and the ability to travel great distances at light-speed. In short there's absolutely nothing to cement it to anything resembling the real West. What saves it is the fact that it doesn't aspire or even pretend to be a great or good movie. The actors appear to have a good time delivering their silly dialog and hamming it up for the camera. And there's lots of action. People running around, either on foot or on horseback, lots of fistfights, gunfights, chases, robberies, standoffs, etc. etc. etc. And let's not forget the glorious Technicolor. This is one of my favorite parts of the early Technicolor movies. The color wasn't really true to life but boy was it ever brilliant. Claire Trevor never looked better in her red dress, cut low with plenty of cleavage and shoulders exposed. Every one of her outfits was so brilliant it literary jumped off the screen. How such a gorgeous woman ever survived intact in the midst of a bunch of ruffians is a mystery to me but like I said this movie doesn't try to be realistic. So put aside logic and have fun when you watch this. Bear in mind that my low score reflects its artistic merits not its fun factor. Highly recommended.

Whatever merit BEST OF THE BADMEN has as a movie can be traced to its cast of film veterans headed by ROBERT RYAN, ROBERT PRESTON, CLAIRE TREVOR, WALTER BRENNAN, BRUCE CABOT, JACK BEUTEL and LAWRENCE TIERNEY, all of whom look right at home in this post-Civil War western about Quantrill's Raiders who are still acting as though the war between the states isn't over.

CLAIRE TREVOR has her usual hard-boiled role as Lily, a woman married to ROBERT PRESTON, a corrupt man out to capture the good Yankee, ROBERT RYAN--but who meets with resistance when his wife plots to help Ryan escape jail. The story is rather routine and not on too firm a footing toward the end, but it's all made enjoyable by the usual number of shootouts and roundups, all filmed in some fine Technicolor.

While Preston and Cabot have the meatiest bad men roles, it's really Ryan and Trevor who walk off with the acting honors. As for JACK BEUTEL, it's easy to see why he never made it to major stardom despite his handsome good looks.

I don't know if in real life the Clanton brothers met the Younger brothers or Billy the Kid or Jesse James, but in the western hsitory, all those mighty west characters did it many times; even Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickock met the Ford brothers too. The Robert Ryan's character called Clanton is maybe just a coincidence here, no relation with Wyatt Earp, but admit it's a bit weird to associate Clanton and the Youngers.... Besides this curious but not so surprising matter, this is a good western, made by a director totally unknown for the big screen industry after this one. He only worked for TV stuff, series. Despite the cast, gallery of tough guys portraits - Robert Preston, Lawrence Tierney, Barton Mc Lane - Robert Ryan steals the show by his presence, as usual, and the pace is very tense, for RKO, who was not specialized in westerns in particular.