Wyoming Renegades

Of course, from such a lame director Fred Sears, we could not expect to obtain here a good quality western, some kind of a Joseph Lewis or Budd Boetticher's western; I mean low budget but sharply done. Here, nothing of the kind, but it remains bearable, with the help of Phil Carey, his charisma, his presence. Good action scenes and the best to say and summarize is that this Columbia production is not monitorized by the infamous Sam Katzman, who would have given us something very worst. Just check several Fred Sears's films, produced by Sam Katzman. It remains worth the watch for western buffs.

Brady Sutton {Phil Carey}, once a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang, returns home to Broken Bow after serving three years in jail. Wanting a fresh start, he finds the town are unwilling to believe he has gone straight; only his girlfriend, Nancy Warren, and a stranger, Charlie Veer, are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. Things turn bad when Cassidy and mob turn up to rob the town bank and Brady is believed to have been part of a set up. Forced to go on the run with Charlie, can Brady clear his name? Or is he destined to forever be an outlaw as part of Cassidy's crew?

Directed by Fred F. Sears {Earth vs. the Flying Saucers}, Wyoming Renegades has no stars of note, no real pedigree and a pretty mundane script. It is however enjoyable enough if one can get past the bad acting and the suspend disbelief ending. The story, although a familiar one of a bad guy trying to go good, is just about interesting enough to hold the viewer for the short running time of just under 75 minutes. Putting yet another spin on the Butch Cassidy {Gene Evans, great voice, bad actor} story, the film is at least offering up insight into a gang dynamic. And of course there's a little romantic angle {Martha Hyler solid enough and with nice hair} to keep things spicy in the last quarter. Decent enough location work comes from Iverson Ranch in California and Douglas Kennedy {The Last Wagon} as Veer earns his wages. 5/10

If you're thinking you'll be getting those lovable rogues from Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid in Wyoming Renegades you'd be dead wrong. This Hole In The Wall gang features a mean, but very crafty Butch Cassidy in Gene Evans and a charming, but deadly Sundance Kid in William Bishop.

I will say that Evans and Bishop don't end up in Bolivia but they do come to justice in Wyoming Renegades. And it's all because they won't let gang member Philip Carey just go his own way.

Carey returns to his home town and just wants to open the family blacksmith business again after his stretch in prison. But except for the girl he left behind Martha Hyer and a stranger in town Douglas Kennedy no one wants him. When Evans and Bishop try to pull a holdup of the bank then they really don't want him.

Without name stars this western has a nice ring of authenticity even though the plot is totally made up. I liked how Gene Evans played Cassidy, he's one crafty villain and nobody's fool.

As for how he's gotten, all I'll say is there was one person that Evans never figured on for outsmarting him.

This unassuming western tale from 1954 concerns an ex-con who once rode the outlaw trail with Butch Cassidy & the Wild Bunch. Blamed for a new series of crimes, Phil Carey must fight to clear his name and put an end to Cassidy's rash of robberies.

Phil Carey has had a long career, starting out in program Westerns after WWII. He is very good in this one, but the script is not especially believable--- sometimes seeming a little too predictable. Veteran character actor Gene Evans hams it up as a greedy Butch Cassidy.

This film is routine, with little to recommend it. The casting was interesting, but the finished film fails to blaze any new trails about the legend of Butch Cassidy.

Aside from an early appearance onscreen of Butch & Sundance with the former as a straightforward heavy, and a rousing punch-up at the conclusion in which the women demonstrate whose got the biggest balls.

It also provides a look at Aaron Spelling during his brief career as an actor. On the strength of this he'd have made a worthy successor to Dwight Frye had he not soon moved behind the camera.