The Brigand

In an attempt to capitalize on Dexter's first film for Columbia, VALENTINO, the studio promptly gave him another assignment in which he would emulate the silent screen star who made his mark in sand and sandal epics. Not only that, they gave him a dual role requiring the actor to carry the film.

It's only half-successful. Dexter looks good in the period costumes, even acquits himself well in a couple of nicely choreographed dance scenes and makes a dashing hero in the Alexander Dumas style. He even makes a distinction between the true King and his giddy laughter and the brave imposter. But somehow, the total effect is lacking, partly due to a lackluster script and the fact that his leading lady is no more than a cardboard heroine.

JODY LAWRENCE exhibits almost no emotion in her role as the Princess who falls in love with the imposter. She speaks all her lines in a dull monotone and rarely changes her expression. This turns out to be a liability for a costume romance to stir up the proper amount of interest.

Dexter carries the main burden, while GALE ROBBINS, RON RANDELL, CARL BENTON REID and even ANTHONY QUINN as the villain Ramon are mere ciphers. It's a shame, because Columbia gave the film the benefit of lavish sets and costumes, obviously expecting a good return for their money. What they got is the same old Dumas story about a commoner impersonating royalty while the villains plot and plan how to win their way to the throne.

Summing up: Moderately interesting and not Dexter's fault that the project fails to become a spirited enough adventure.

This was one swashbuckler I had been looking forward to for some time but, while it did not disappoint, the overall experience was tarnished, first, by the fact that the copy acquired was of merely adequate picture quality (TCM-sourced but bearing washed-out colours – bordering on monochrome during outdoor night sequences!) when it was issued as a MOD DVD-R last year and, worse, the print was missing some footage at the climax (given away by an abrupt cut from exterior to interior!) suggesting there had been a hiccup with the recording!! Now, considering the film was an unauthorized riff on "The Prisoner Of Zenda" (albeit acknowledging inspiration from an unnamed Alexandre Dumas tale, unless they were just alluding to the central dual role of his "The Man In The Iron Mask"!), it is ironic to note that, when the definitive 1937 version of the Anthony Hope classic was scheduled on local TV in the mid-1980s, I had myself erroneously pressed the pause button while taping that broadcast!!

Anyway, the title of the movie is not only generic (which is perhaps why we begin in the Moroccan desert and then move on to a more typical Ruritanian setting!) but a misnomer – since protagonist Anthony Dexter was an officer in the service of the Sultan entrusted with routing brigands rather than one himself!! Even so, that very epithet is indeed applied to him by the schemers involved when the ruse of his taking over for a foppish and indisposed (via a freak hunting 'accident') lookalike ruler is discovered. A more charismatic Anthony Quinn reprises villainous usurper duties for director Karlson from the Zorro/Monte Cristo hybrid MASK OF THE AVENGER (1951), as does Jody Lawrance – now dark-haired as opposed to brunette – in the female lead stakes (though she has to romantically vie with Gale Robbins for the star's attention here…thus demoting Quinn's second billing in the previous film to a lowly fourth in this case!). While that had been a quite pleasant effort, this is altogether superior – though Dexter (his frequent dancing routines imply that he was somewhat cursed by his own resemblance to Rudolph Valentino, whom he had portrayed in a fictionalized biopic the previous year!) was essentially small improvement over John Derek, the supporting cast does include the likes of Carl Benton Reid and Ron Randell as the hero's adviser and protector respectively (functions also performed by characters found in "Zenda"!).

While such shameless borrowings (including the naturalized Arab's unfamiliarity with court etiquette…but, then, the ballroom skills he displays are easily explained by his Portuguese heritage!) would normally condemn a 'B' movie such as this to mediocrity – tellingly, that same year, a merely average remake (despite being a scene-for-scene copy!) of THE PRISONER OF ZENDA was released by MGM – the film under review has an undeniable flair to it that one readily forgives the flaws, preferring to be engaged in the simple joys of the familiar yet still thrilling narrative (whose ending, at least, differs from its prototype)!! For the record, I have another Dexter adventure on the back-burner, namely THE BLACK PIRATES (1954), and would also be interested in checking out the similarly historical CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS (1953) and CAPTAIN KIDD AND THE SLAVE GIRL (1954)

I was at first afraid that this costume adventure flick was produced by the Columbia Pictures home producer, the infamous Sam Katzman who was so greedy that it often made films worst than they could have been with bigger budgets. But this Phil Karlson's film is maybe also very cheap, however the Sam Katzman's touch, trademark, is not here. I was very surprised, because this kind of story, period is totally in the Katzman's fashion. Many movie buffs forget this film when they present or talk about Phil Karlson. But Karlson was more a film noir specialist than anything else, I admit. This movie remains a good gem to watch anyway.

The Brigand is an entertaining and engaging costume romp that is well filmed, and features an appealing and understated performance by that much underrated actor, Anthony Dexter, in the duo-lead roles. Able backing is provided by Anthony Quinn as the treacherous and slimy villain of the piece. So many movies of this type are throw-away and forgettable, but this one has sufficient pace, as well as a good storyline, to retain the viewers interest throughout. It's such a fine movie that it's difficult to understand why it's never been released commercially, and remains to this day very much of a rarity. It's also interesting to note that it was the follow-up feature to Valentino, for Anthony Dexter, and it's perfectly clear that only bad luck prevented him from going on to be a top Hollywood star. Far lesser actors managed to forge long, star-studded careers for themselves, so it will always remain something of a mystery as to why Mr Dexter never reached the heights. If the chance to view this movie ever comes your way, it's well worth seeing.

The year 1951 Anthony Dexter made his film debut in "VALENTINO". The resemblance to the original silent screen idol was uncanny. I felt Columbia Pictures thought they would build him as a swashbuckler like his predecessor. So Mr.Dexters next film was an adventure story based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas. He plays a dual role - a badly wounded king(assassination attempt) and a desert adventurer who is persuaded to double for him.

The plot had been used a number of times previous to 1952. Mr.Dexter handles his role(s)well including sword duels and several dance routines including the tango(Valentino reference).This film is well mounted in Technicolor and excellent direction by Phil Karlson.

The supporting cast does fine - Anthony Quinn as the villain, the two female leads Jody Lawrence and Gale Robbins,and Carl Benton Reid handle their roles expertly.I have not seen this film since

1964 and would like to view again on DVD!!!