Badman's Territory (1946)

Director:

Tim Whelan

Writers:

Jack Natteford (original screenplay) and
Luci Ward (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 April 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

See Them ALL...IN ACTION -- IN ONE PICTURE! The James Boys - The Daltons - Belle Starr

Plot:

After some gun play with a posse, the James Gang head for Quinto in a section of land which is not a part of America...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Oklahoma | Outlaw | Indian | Indian Tribe

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Sheriff Mark Rowley
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Honest Jim Badger / The Coyote Kid
Ann Richards	...	Henryetta Alcott
Ray Collins	...	Colonel Farewell / Narrator
James Warren	...	Deputy John Rowley
Morgan Conway	...	Captain William 'Bill' Hampton
Virginia Sale	...	Meg
John Halloran	...	Hank 'Mac' McGee
Andrew Tombes	...	Doc Quillan aka Doc Grant
Richard Hale	...	Ben Wade
Harry Holman	...	Hodge
Chief Thundercloud	...	Chief Tahlequah
Lawrence Tierney	...	Jesse James
Tom Tyler	...	Frank James
Steve Brodie	...	Bob Dalton

Runtime:

97 min | USA:79 min (re-edited version) (re-release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #11200) | UK:U

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Ben Johnson appears uncredited as a member of Marshal Hampton's posse. He even has a line or two of dialogue. He and the marshal and another deputy dismount and enter a building on location. In the next shot, the studio interior, Hampton and the deputy come through the door, but not Ben, he has disappeared and is seen no more.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the end of the movie a man states this is the end that Jesse James had been shot by Bob Ford and Frank James had been captured. While technically accurate, Jesse was killed over 10 years before the Coffeyville raid. Jesse was killed on Apr. 3, 1882 and the Coffeyville raid took place on Oct. 6, 1892.

Quotes:

Sheriff Mark Rowley: Johnny, if you were an outlaw camped down there on the creek and saw a posse coming up behind you, what would you do.
Deputy Sheriff Johnny Rowley: I'd head up this cut to open country where a man could use a fresh horse.
Sheriff Mark Rowley: Right! Now, as a deputy sheriff who's figured out the outlaw's next move.
Deputy Sheriff Johnny Rowley: I'd sneak up behind those trees.
Sheriff Mark Rowley: Right!
Deputy Sheriff Johnny Rowley: And pump lead into 'em as they come up.
Sheriff Mark Rowley: Wrong! A good officer don't kill except in self-defense. The saw says every man has a right to a fair trial.
Deputy Sheriff Johnny Rowley: Outlaws? Train robbers?
Sheriff Mark Rowley: And even murderers. No man's guilty until he's convicted. So try to take your man alive.
Deputy Sheriff Johnny Rowley: But what if he shows fight?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Long Night (1947)

Quinto: a town where the gun was the law.

Here is a great idea: make a western with all the famous outlaws showing up: Jesse and Frank James, The Dalton brothers, Belle Starr and Sam Bass. It must have been financially rewarding because two years later "Return of the Badmen" came out with many of the same actors. Scott is a sheriff that ends up in a town full of outlaws looking for his brother who had been shot. There he falls in love with Ann Richards, who runs a newspaper. The real bad guy is Morgan Conway, who is supposed to be the one on the side of the law. Gabby Hayes gives a great performance as Coyote, quite different from his usual sidekick roles. Fast paced and entertaining.