Badman's Territory (1946)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Tim Whelan

Writers:

Jack Natteford (story) and
Luci Ward (story) ...

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:

Outlaw | Marshal | Jesse James | Brother Brother Relationship | Title Spoken By Character

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 11

12:00 PM

TCM

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:

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.

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:

Followed by Return of the Bad Men (1948)

Undiscovered, Nicely-Filmed Western

This is a fine western, one of the better ones of its era and one that, sadly, is hardly known. Generally speaking, it''s a fun movie that should have a big audience. You can't find it on VHS or DVD and few people have ever heard of it. Just look at how few reviews there are on this website.

The story is fast-moving because of a nice mixture of action, suspense, romance and even some comedy. Randolph Scott, Gabby Hayes, Ann Richards and Ray Collins are all fun to watch. Scott acted with Shirley Temple and with Astiare & Rogers, etc., but a western is where he looked the most comfortable. As a bonus, we get tough-guy film noir man Lawrence Tierney playing Jesse James!

Not super, but a solid old western.