M-G-M. Director Delmer Daves; Producer Aaron Rosenberg; Screenplay Richard Collins; Camera John F. Seitz; Editor William H. Webb, James Baiotto; Art Director William A. Horning, Daniel B. Cathcart
Alan Ladd
Ernest Borgnine
Katy Jurado
Claire Kelly
Nehemiah Persoff
Kent Smith
It is possible to make an adult western without making it a psychological western. Aaron Rosenberg proves the point with his production of The Badlanders, a truly original frontier drama, a suspense melodrama on one level and a huge horselaugh on another, with each element playing off on the other.
The heroes of the screenplay, based on a novel by W.R. Burnett [The Asphalt Jungle], are two ex-cons, released from the Nevada Territorial Prison, circa 1900, with little but revenge and larceny in their hearts. It is the plan of one of them (Alan Ladd) to do nothing less than rob a gold mine, and he enlists the other (Ernest Borgnine) in support. The problem, of course, is formidable. They must blast the ore - half a ton of it - from a spot right next to a mine full of workmen, then get the huge load away from under the noses (and shotguns) of the legal owners.
Delmer Daves' direction has a facility of throwing a laugh into the midst of a suspense buildup, relieving and heightening it with flashes of humor.
Ladd is not required over-heroic, physically. His strength is emotional, and with casual grace and a way with an ironic line, he creates an effective contrast to Borgnine. Katy Jurado is handsomely colorful and alternatively touching as a Mexican girl. Claire Kelly, who makes her major bow in this picture, is a stunning redhead but she is not yet a strong enough actress to hold her own with this trio.
(Color) Widescreen. Available on VHS. Extract of a review from 1958. Running time: 85 MIN.
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