When the Daltons Rode (1940) User Reviews

Early western about the bad guy myth - with good stunt work!

[westerner357 · 6/10 · 25 June 2004]

Another new DVD release from the vaults of Universal that's about as action-packed as JESSE JAMES (1939), which also came out around the same time. This too, carries the same western myth that Hollywood has about certain outlaws. If society had only treated them fairly, then they wouldn't have become outlaws in the first place.

The Daltons have been railroaded off of their farm and turned into outlaws by greedy land speculators who manipulate the law to suit their own ends. So begins the chase out of the courthouse, through the woods and onto a moving train in order to make good their escape. It even has some good Yakima Canutt stunt work involving a stagecoach robbery.

Randolph Scott and his love interest Kay Francis really are on the sidelines as those who are siding with the Daltons in spirit, even though they aren't out robbing bank and trains with them. They're really are only supporting players here even though they headline in the credits.

The real star is Broderick Crawford who despite his New York Bronx accent, really shines here as the lead Dalton, even scene-stealing away from Brian Donlevy who takes a back seat. This movie is Crawford's show, no question about it.

Director George Marshall has done better with oaters like DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939) and Texas (1941), but this film is no slouch, either. There's not a lot of deep plot characterizations but if you want 40s action that moves along pretty nicely, then you can't go wrong here.

6½ out of 10

Randy Never Fires Any Weapon

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 25 August 2010]

In a strange role for Randolph Scott in a western, he never wears or fires a gun in When The Daltons Rode. In fact he's not even a Dalton brother just a family friend who falls for Kay Francis and she for him. But Kay's the girlfriend of Broderick Crawford one of the Dalton Brothers.

And it's especially strange that for a western that gets a lot of action into its 81 minute running time that Randolph Scott is no part of it.

The Daltons are played by Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Stu Erwin, and Frank Albertson. Though the plot is taken purportedly from the book authored by Emmet Dalton, it seems to have been more lifted from the 20th Century Fox film Jesse James. The Daltons together with their mother own a farm near Coffeyville, Kansas. A land holding company fronted by Harvey Stephens but really controlled by George Bancroft is after the Dalton farm to sell it to the railroad for a right of way. When a surveyor is killed accidentally Erwin, Donlevy, and Albertson are arrested. When it looks like the case is not going their way, despite Randolph Scott's defense of them, they break loose and turn outlaw. The rest of the film is almost a non-stop action view of their outlaw exploits until the legendary showdown in Coffeyville.

George Marshall keeps the action at one lively pace and the comic relief is supplied by, would you believe an amorous Andy Devine playing a Dalton friend and fellow outlaw.

But Randolph Scott in a suit, who'd have believed it.

Despite The Billing, Broderick Crawford Stars

[boblipton · 7/10 · 6 November 2019]

The Dalton brother -- Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Frank Albertson and the murdered Stu Erwin go from peaceful farmers to desperate outlaws.

There's much to admire in this movie, from the way in which the first 20 or so minutes are lighthearted and often funny, making the fix the brothers get into tinged with a certain sense of tragedy. Kay Francis seems like luxury casting, as does George Bancroft as the banker, but undoubtedly that was a canny move, trying to replicate the major studio minor stars who had made such a hit of Marshall's DESTRY RIDES AGAIN the year before. Thus the top billing for Randolph Scott, even though the movie, as shown, centers far more on Broderick Crawford, the hot-tempered lama of the brothers who starts off engaged to Miss Francis and winds up... well....

The big sequence about two thirds of the way through, where they escape from the law -- thanks to quick thinking by Andy Devine! -- and wind up robbing a train on the way out is very well done, with lots of good trick riding. Who knew there were such towering mountains in Oklahoma, or such rushing, swollen rivers. Who knew it was even called Oklahoma all the time in the 1890s, instead of The Indian Territories (an appellation I have seen in print as current into the 1930)?

In the end, it' a big, brawling A Western that owes a lot to other recent A westerns. If it wasn't as big a hit for Universal as DESTRY RIDES AGAIN, it's very entertaining on its own sentimental terms.

THE Top Action Western

[info-17114 · 13 July 2008]

Thank goodness for the comic relief of Andy Devine or I wouldn't have had a chance to breathe! I've watched over 200 westerns in the last month (including over 95 John Wayne films) from 1926 onwards and I have to say that NONE of them had the action or pace of this one. Not to mention a stellar cast. The action scenes with horses were of the very best. There was the classic Yakima Canutt jump from the stagecoach to the horses but not just one jump but several of the Dalton's, one after the other from the same coach. There were horses jumping from moving trains and diving off cliffs into water and the pace just didn't let up. Gun play? Don't get me started! Half the budget must have gone to black powder. I don't care how you get to see this film, beg borrow or download, just get it.

Great Saturday Matinee Feature, Just Add Popcorn

[dglink · 7/10 · 26 October 2020]

A fast paced and often light-hearted film that purports to tell the story of the infamous Dalton gang, "When the Daltons Rode" boasts a fine cast of stalwart western actors under the sure direction of veteran George Marshall. Tod Jackson, a lawyer, stops in Kansas en route to Oklahoma to visit his childhood friends, the Dalton family. Convinced to stay long enough for a good visit, Jackson is smitten with the local telegraph operator and becomes involved in the Daltons' problems with a corrupt land-development company. The exciting action swings from a humorous melee in a courtroom to a wild shootout on the streets to robberies aboard speeding trains, although the film climaxes in a too-tidy finale.

Western icon Randolph Scott has top billing as Jackson, but he is often off screen, and Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, George Bancroft, and Andy Devine all have nearly equal roles. A romantic-triangle subplot features Kay Francis, and Mary Gordon plays Ma Dalton, matriarch to the unruly Dalton brood. Devine is the comedy relief, and he has some good moments, although both he and Crawford ostensibly perform stunts that neither of the beefy actors could convincingly accomplish. However, the film's stunt team should take a bow for their outstanding work with a slide under a racing stagecoach, with leaps from rocky cliffs onto moving rail cars, and with jumps from a speeding train while on horseback. A behind-the-camera asset is Hal Mohr's fine black-and-white cinematography, which beautifully captures the action and the western landscapes.

If your Saturday matinees featured posses and gunfights, brawls and chases, laconic cowboys and pretty school marms, "When the Daltons Rode" will bring back fond memories of popcorn, Milk Duds, and 25-cent movie tickets. Lots of action, a smidgen of humor, and a touch of romance, Marshall's film may not be among the classic or even best-remembered westerns, but all the elements of a solid oater are present and in top form for an entertaining afternoon at the movies.

Good Stunts and Comedy Make A Tragic Saga Palatable.

[zardoz-13 · 6/10 · 10 December 2007]

Nobody but George Marshall with his characteristic knack for comedy could have helmed the 1940 western horse opera "When the Daltons Rode." This entertaining but uneven blend of humor and hell-raising in what constitutes a biography of the Dalton gang boasts top-flight stunt work but a lightweight approach to an inherently tragic sub-genre within westerns—the outlaw opus. When Universal Studios released this movie, the Hays Office dictated that criminals must not profit from their perfidy, and these felons had to be punished for their anti-social misdeeds. Marshall and scenarist Harold Shumate present the Daltons initially as victims of a crooked land grabbing scheme before they embark on a life of lawlessness made all the more ironic since Bob was a lawman. Indeed, by fade-out, the Daltons have traveled the entire trajectory from maligned innocents to hardened outlaws. Nevertheless, Marshall and Shumate do everything in their power to make this outlaw opus palatable rather than oppressive. Unfortunately, neither director nor writer delves too deeply into the land grabber scheme and the revelation of the individual—the Judas if you will—behind their woes is dealt with in formulaic fashion. The Daltons never learn his identity, but Bob deals him a death blow. Long before "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" treated its infamous outlaw pair with levity, Marshall did so with the Daltons in this trim 81 minute release. For the record, Marshall had made more than his share of westerns during the silent film era, so he was no stranger to westerns. Furthermore, Marshall became the first major western director to ridicule the conventions of the western. "Destry Rides Again," which he produced before "When the Daltons Rode" at Universal, stands western conventions on their heads. Sadly, "When the Daltons Rode" is neither as good as either "Destry Rides Again" or "Texas," Marshall's next western afterward with Glenn Ford and William Holden. The other major weakness of "When the Daltons Rode" is casting leading man Randolph Scott as a tin-horn attorney who never straps on a six-gun and spends too much time off screen while supporting players Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, and Andy Devine get the lion's share of screen time.

The movie opens and closes cleverly enough with a garrulous old blacksmith (Edgar Buchanan of "Texas") talking to Tod Jackson (Randolph Scott). At the outset, Tod wants to know the whereabouts of the Dalton ranch. Accidentally, he runs into his old boyhood chums as they are posing for a photograph with their mother. Mary Gordon plays Ma Dalton; she starred in the Universal Studios' "Sherlock Holmes" movies as Mrs. Hudson. Tod laughs at the Daltons when the shoot turns disastrous, and they engage in rough horseplay in the street afterward before the Daltons realize Tod's identity. Tod decides to stick around for Ma Dalton's birthday party, so he has the local telegrapher, Julie King (Kay Francis) send a telegram to his pal in Guthrie, Oklahoma. From the moment that Tod meets Julie, the two are attracted to each other. At Ma Dalton's birthday party, a farmer interrupts the hilarity to warn his neighbors that the Kansas Land and Development Company has just evicted him from land that he was farmed for ten years.

Later, surveyors for the mysterious Kansas Land and Development Company show up at Ben Dalton's ranch. When the Daltons try to run the surveyors off of their property, a clash ensues and Ben knocks down a surveyor who was drawing a gun to shoot one of Ben's brothers. In the fall, the surveyor strikes his head on a rock and accidentally dies. Tod serves as Ben's counsel when the case comes to trial. Things turn ugly during the proceedings and the judge wants Grat (Brian Donlevy) arrest for contempt of court. An irate Bob resigns his U.S. Government badge, .slugs the sheriff and frees Ben. When the Daltons turn to leave, a surveyor produces a shotgun. Bob guns him down and the Daltons flee. As they are saddling up outside, Ben tells Bob, "This ain't right, Bob." Replies Bob: "Nothing's right anymore." For the remainder of the movie, the Daltons are leaping from one frying pan to another until their demise.

When Marshall and Shumate aren't depicting the rise and fall of the Daltons, they alternate their biography with a disposable love triangle between Bob Dalton, Tod Jackson, and Julie King. Julie is engaged to marry Bob, but Tod somehow manages to sweep her off her feet. She falls hopelessly in love with him and presses him to clear the air about them with Bob. Tod is reluctant because Bob is an old childhood friend and Tod refuses to ruin that friendship, much to Julie's chagrin. The latent feminism in this affair and Tod's reluctance to confide in his friend represent another way that Marshall skewers the masculinity of his western hero. This subplot pervades "When the Daltons Rode" and Julie has to take matters into her own hands to clear the air. Meanwhile, Marshall counterpoints this serious dramatic lover story with a farcical romance. Ozark Jones (obese funny man Andy Devine) is fought over by gorgeous gals whose attraction for someone has rotund as he is represents another example of Marshall's mockery of western traditions.

Marshall stages several great action scenes riddled with comedy. The Daltons make a daring, daylight escape from one town when Ozark hijacks a stagecoach and provides cover for their departure from a besieged dinner is funny. Stunt pioneer Yakima Canutt performs his landmark "Stagecoach" stunt. The next great action scene occurs on a train filled with lawmen. Our antagonists steal their horses and ride away. "When the Daltons Rode" has enough action and comedy to help compensate for its tragic ending. The last scene with Tod enduring another lecture from Edgar Buchanan's grizzled old blacksmith is a hoot.

Highly fictionalized western from Universal Pictures and director George Marshall

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 14 July 2021]

East coast lawyer Tod Jackson (Randolph Scott) travels to Kansas where he meets the Dalton brothers: Grat (Brian Donlevy), Bob (Broderick Crawford), Ben (Stuart Erwin), and Emmett (Frank Albertson). They're farmers, with Bob a local law man, but when a crooked land company tries to steal their property, the brothers end up fugitives from the law. They soon embark on a spree of bank and train robberies that mark them as the most wanted men in the region. Meanwhile, Tod makes time with Bob's girlfriend Julie (Kay Francis).

The cast is good, but the goofy script is almost 100% pure baloney, and production lurches from nicely competent to threadbare and cheap. One primary problem is that ostensible protagonist Scott is pointless to most of the story. I kept waiting for him to be reluctantly forced to go after his old friends, but that never happens. His character could have been removed from the whole thing with little change to the overall tale. I expected Donlevy to take the lead among the Daltons, but instead it's Crawford who gets the leadership role. Andy Devine plays the comic relief, naturally, but his character is also an inveterate skirt-chaser with a succession of women on his knee, not exactly what one expects from Devine.

Two odds points from the film: there's a scene where the gang robs a train, and they steal the horses belonging to lawmen on the train. The horses are on an open-top corral train car, and they actually ride them off of the side of the moving train. It looked like an extremely dangerous stunt for the horses, but it's shown with no cuts, and none of the horses seemed injured, despite some spills. There's also a big shoot-out in the movie with the gang members inside a saloon with their opponents outside in the street and on opposite buildings. There is a lengthy exchange of gunfire through the saloon's large picture window, and the window never breaks, instead the bullets passing through and leaving bullet holes. Once or twice I can believe it, but a succession of rifle and pistol shots through a large sheet of glass and no shattering? That's some strong glass!

Middle of the road

[dieseldemon85 · 6/10 · 16 June 2023]

This feature is decent for being 80 years old. The first half verges on comedy in which a character called Ozark was included for laughs. The second half offers some good action and shoot outs. You have a story of a young lawyer who comes to town to see old friends, before moving on to another town to practice law. A crooked surveyor accuses one of the Dalton bros of killing his man, the eldest Dalton bros is a sheriff but throws away his badge and goes on the lamb with the rest of his kin and Ozark in tow as he feels justice was not served, I find that part highly unlikely as once a law man always a lawman, not resorting to robbing. You have the bandit element and Randolph Scott falling for Bob Dalton's fiance. Not on par with the Spaghetti westerns but a decent watch. 3/5.

Great old cowboy movie deserves resurrection.

[Mozjoukine · 10/10 · 24 March 2004]

It is just shoddy handling that has made this splendid entertainment drop out of sight. It should have gone on accumulating admirers down the years.Director George Marshall missed out on attention too, though this film, DESTRY RIDES AGAIN and his succession of Glenn Ford films have a consistent, light handling that shows he was one of the best people in this field. Let's throw in the fact that Broderick Crawford has his biggest pre ALL THE KING'S MEN role. He gets as much screen time as top billed players Scott and Francis and acts them off the screen. He's terrific, in a straight role, as the chief Dalton Brother.

The film has the standard ingredients - shoot ups, chases, western timber town atmosphere, over-laid with the usual plot elements about the wrongly persecuted family. What isn't expected is the expert pacing, emphasis and the humor - the lynch mob bursting into the jail to find the whole gang waiting for them, guns drawn, is classic. The film also has one of the best filmings of the Yak Canutt routine of falling under the runaway coach horses. A class act.

Powerful Cast & Powder-Full 2nd Half...Don't Give Up...Silliness Makes Way for Great Action

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 8 August 2023]

Forget Randolph Scott who is Involved with this Sleight-of-Hand Billing and Should of Known Better.

Here He is Far-Cry from Boetticher and a Great Exit Decade of the 1950's where this Kind of Hoodwink would Certainly Be Beneath the Grizzled "Western-Movie" Icon with almost 70 Odd Under His Gun-Belt.

Speaking of Gun-Belts, Randy's is No-Where to be Seen. He is Primped-Up and Wears a Suit. The Only Thing He Does is Steal Broderick Crawford's (Grat Dalton) Girl-Friend (Kay Francis).

Thanks Randolph, Collect Your Paycheck...All is Forgiven Because...

The Rest of the Name Cast Has a Field-Day Along with the Yakima Canutt and Stunt-Team.

That's the 2nd-Half, when the Daltons Ride...Robbing Banks and Trains as the Wanted Posters Keep Raising the Bounty Exponentially.

When the Dalton Family is Railroaded for Murder and a Miscarriage of Justice, They Turn to the Rail-Roads for Much Needed Cash.

It's All Done with Fast-Pacing Action...

Incredible, Dangerous Criminal Dynamics as the Audience Forgets About Randolph Scott and Dives Into a Conglomerate of Hollywood Dream-Factory Western Shenanigans that Take the Breath Away.

Especially the Ending Town Shoot-Out with Hundreds of Bullets Flying and People Dropping Like Flies. Certainly One of the Most Gun-Crazy Movies of the Genre of that Era.

By Randy...See You in 10 Years when You Hook-Up with Budd Boetticher.

Say Thanks to Your Co-Stars...Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Andy Devine, George Bancroft, Frank Albertson, Stuart Erwin, with Mary Gordon, Kay Francis, and The Stunt-Team for "Saving Your Bacon".

Lots of shooting

[AAdaSC · 4/10 · 19 November 2014]

Randolph Scott (Tod) arrives in town looking for the Dalton family. He comes across them and stays to act as the town lawyer against a Land Development Company who is stealing land from the farmers of the town. Also, one of the Dalton brothers is accused of murder after one of the land developers is accidentally killed in a skirmish. Well, after the court case for the murder charge, the Dalton brothers take off and become outlaws.

This film is strange in that the leading man – Randy – is hardly in the film. This is a film about the four Daltons and their rampages of theft with a love strand thrown in. Kay Francis (Julie), who is second billed, plays the girlfriend of Broderick Crawford (Bob Dalton) and she is also hardly in the film. This is Broderick's film and God knows why he is cast in fifth position! There is a love triangle that is occasionally touched upon between Scott, Crawford and Francis but it is all rather forced. Why not just have a film about the Daltons and cut Scott and Francis from the proceedings? They aren't needed in this film. It doesn't seem respectful to the rest of the cast, who can carry things without the two headliners. I guess the studio just didn't want to take a risk.

Good scenes mainly involve the stunt work – we get horses jumping off a train, a horse jumping off a bridge and a bloke falling from a wagon underneath some horses, going underneath the wagon carriage and climbing up the back of the wagon! Set against this is the poor comedy tone that runs throughout the film. And all that blasted shooting in the end sequence. Nothing much going on with this film really. In fact, as already mentioned, it's particularly insulting to the cast as the two top billed stars aren't really in the film.

Action Packed Classic

[FightingWesterner · 8/10 · 25 May 2014]

Lawyer Randolph Scott arrives in Kansas just in time to witness childhood friends the Dalton brothers turned into outlaws and thieves, after doing battle with crooked business interests, stacked courts, and violent mobs of mindless vigilantes.

Top-billed Scott melts into the background as the film is easily stolen by it's real stars Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, and Andy Devine, who plays an overweight, hayseed version of Casanova, who joins the Dalton boys in order to get away from the large amount of aggressive women in his life!

Excellent, rowdy entertainment, this features some really awesome stunt work from Yakima Cannut, including the classic stagecoach backslide, where the stuntman goes from being dragged between the horses to the back of the coach by letting go and grabbing the back axle, as well as several horse jumps onto and from trains and cliffs, truly eye-popping! There's some exciting gun-play at work here too.

A good example of twisted Hollywood history, there's so much sympathy for the outlaws here, it's hard to imagine this making it past the National Board Of Review!

Oh Kay!

[jjnxn-1 · 5/10 · 10 May 2013]

Average western with a cast full of familiar faces but this is nothing special. What is Kay Francis, the essence of urban sophistication, doing in this routine oater? Sliding down the Hollywood ladder that's what. After years at the top she quarreled with the brothers Warner over money and they effectively finished her career. Here she is mid slide, freelancing at Universal and whatever studio would offer her work, she had one good part ahead in The Feminine Touch at MGM with Rosalind Russell than it was a series of junk until she ended up at poverty row studio Monogram for three minor films and a fall into obscurity and reclusiveness.

Action scenes stand out in this fun Western myth

[SimonJack · 8/10 · 28 March 2011]

"When the Daltons Rode" is a must film for a Western movie library for two reasons: the sizable cast of well-known actors (some of whom are not known for their roles in Westerns), and for action. It is an entertaining film with its good mix of humor, mostly in the fun-loving nature of exchanges among the Daltons, and in the very action-packed last half. The latter includes scenes of great daring that involved considerable stuntman work. Four and five men jumping from a stage coach onto its horse team; men jumping onto the roof of a moving train from a low cliff above; men jumping off a moving train saddled on horses. Reviewers note the early work of the great stuntman and later action scenes director, Yakima Canutt, in scenes that are also performed in other Westerns. The sheer number of these daring scenes in this film put it ahead of so many others for outstanding action.

The movie credits open with acknowledgment that the story is based on myths and tales of the Daltons, some of which were in a book by Emmett Dalton. That the Daltons had been on both sides of the law – as sworn peace officers, and as outlaws, is not fiction. The details around their being driven from their law-abiding ways to outlaws, over sinister land-grabbing plots, are skimmed over; but such schemes are recorded for that period in the expanding West – particularly in the Kansas and Oklahoma territories. The romanticized escapades of the Daltons amid the injustice might be condoned by audiences with the film's humor relief; but the inglorious end for the gang brings the "fun" of their sprees to an abrupt end as well. So, justice is meted out for their bad ways that killed innocent people.

It is a fun movie to watch with a huge cast of known actors for the time. Randolph Scott, Andy Devine and Kay Francis mostly provided some good comedy scenes. The romance in the movie is rather lackluster and not of much substance for the plot. But, some others turned in excellent acting roles — Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy and Mary Gordon.

Hollywood just loved making heroes out of criminals.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 19 September 2016]

This adventurous bag of silliness seems rushed together to cash in on the success of "Jesse James" the previous year and the rising success of "A" budget westerns like "Stagecoach", " Destry Rides Again" and "Union Pacific". What this ends up being is an obvious fictional account that uses elements of the plot of "Jesse James" including almost the same set up that presented the gang as victims, not villains.

Starting off as a lighthearted comedy, this begins with old family friend Randolph Scott showing up for Ma Dalton's birthday bash and stealing the girl (Kay Francis) of Dalton brother Broderick Crawford. Fights over land turn Crawford, brothers Brian Donlevy and Stuart Erwin, as well as their pal Andy Devine, into wanted men, culminating in a very noisy, violent scene with Francis helping them escape, and ma Mary Gordon pretty much being trampled by a hoard of vigilantes. The violence just increases with the alleged initially innocent Daltons turning to a life of violent crime simply out of their disgust with the law and lack of justice.

Nicely put together and certainly entertaining, but so obvious that this is a myth. Unnecessary comic relief with Devine has him turning to crime simply to avoid the two women fighting over him. No longer in glamorous gowns, Kay Francis starts off her role in this inventorying bulls while Scott keeps making her loose count asking her questions about filling out a telegraph slip. Francis was allegedly nervous hearing all those gunshots, but you can't tell that from within her performance.

Of the Dalton's, Broderick Crawford is the strongest, while it's obvious that Mary Gordon was cast because of her resemblance to Jesse James' big screen mother, Jane Darwell. This is an unsuccessful western followup for George Marshall whose previous western, "Destry Rides Again", is considered a classic. This is just so so where it is obvious that a bit of the truth might have made this more than just slightly truthful.

The last half is terrific!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 26 July 2014]

If I were giving this movie a percentage entertainment rating, I would plumb for 75%. The last half of the film is terrific, but the first half is somewhat slow. Just about all the action takes place after the film has been running for around 40 minutes. In the meantime, we are treated to Randolph Scott and Kay Francis who simply don't measure up to Brian Donlevy, George Bancroft, Broderick Crawford and Stu Erwin or even Andy Devine and Frank Albertson. I'm not saying that Scott and Francis give below par performances but simply that their roles are not as interesting or as well-written. Some of their dialogue could be considerably shortened for a starter. When the action finally occurs, it's well worth the wait. Crowds of extras are effectively deployed and money is obviously no object. I'd cite some of my favorite scenes if other reviewers had not already done so. Well, just one! You'll never forget the scene in which the mob breaks into the prison and finds the Daltons waiting for them!

Energetic cast in fictional account of Daltons

[BrianDanaCamp · 1 December 2010]

When I saw the lineup of actors playing the Daltons and their chief sidekick in WHEN THE DALTONS RODE (1940), I was a little skeptical. If it was a Universal picture in 1940 featuring Broderick Crawford, Stuart Erwin, Frank Albertson, and Andy Devine, then it had to be a comedy, right? Well, I was pleasantly surprised. Crawford, Erwin, and Albertson play Bob, Ben, and Emmett Dalton, respectively, while Brian Donlevy plays Grat Dalton, with Devine along as their womanizing(!) comic relief sidekick, Ozark Jones. Sure, there's humor along the way, but once these guys hit the outlaw trail, after a violent encounter with land grabbers on their farm, they mean business and they play it with a vigor I haven't often seen associated with these actors. Donlevy usually played snarling authoritarian villains (see BEAU GESTE and JESSE JAMES), but he's quite engaging here as a quick-tempered farmer out to avenge the injustice done to his family (kind of like his nemesis of the previous year, Jesse James, come to think of it). I'm attributing it all to George Marshall's assured direction. And it helps that there are some beautifully staged second unit action scenes involving chases on horseback, speeding trains, shootouts, and lots of stuntmen, all filmed on location.

The big problem with the film lies with the odd casting of the two stars, Randolph Scott and Kay Francis. Francis plays the town's telegraph operator, who happens to be Bob Dalton's girl yet finds herself increasingly drawn to the Daltons' lawyer, Scott, once the Daltons go on the run. Their scenes together bring the movie to a grinding halt and I wish they'd been cut down or excised completely. Scott is good, but I would have preferred greater emphasis on the Daltons themselves and a supporting actor rather than a top-billed star in the role of the sympathetic lawyer. Miss Francis had been a major star at Warner Bros. in the 1930s but her melodramatic acting style had gone out of fashion by this point, eclipsed by the likes of Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck, and she was reduced to supporting roles and B-movies in the 1940s. An ingenue could have played this part just as well and required fewer scenes than second-billed Francis.

Indicative of the kind of schizophrenia characteristic of Hollywood treatment of outlaws during the reign of the restrictive Production Code, the opening text insists that "In the history of the reckless violence that seized Kansas and Oklahoma, no name carried more terror than DALTON. There were more famous outlaws; but none more daring, none more desperate." Following which we get a consistently sympathetic and terror-free account of the Daltons.

Missed Opportunity

[januszlvii · 5/10 · 24 November 2020]

It is strange talking about an 80 year old film as a missed opportunity but When The Daltons Rode certainly was. First off they cast Randolph Scott as Tod Jackson and put him in a suit with no gun. Basically why bother casting him? Next as his love interest Julie King, they cast Kay Francis.. I am someone who does not like her ( she might be my least favorite actress ever), Basically I could only tolerate her in one movie: Raffles ( and that is more for Ronald Colman). Almost any actress would be better then her. I will say the action and humor worked very well especially Broderick Crawford as Bob Dalton, and the supporting cast ( Edgar Buchanan and Mary Gordon in particular) were good. If Universal would have not bothered to cast Scott and Francis, I would have the movie 8 or 9 stars ( out of 10), but wasting Scott and having Francis in the movie requires a major deduction ( especially Francis's casting). I give it 5/10 stars. Which is still my highest grade for a Francis film ( Raffles excluded of course).

A good token of its type

[CubsandCulture · 8/10 · 20 February 2021]

This story of farmers becoming outlaws when the big shots screw them over is nothing new or all that different from the Westerns of the 40's. Indeed, the film has its Hays code required ending, its requisite action scenes and the soapy love triangle. This film will not win any new devotees of the genre. But if you are fond of Westerns this a good matinee flick to throw on.

A lot of it has to do with the stunt work and action scenes. While still be identifiably 40's, they stand out as impressive and even a little more realistic than you normally get from this genre and time period. The film also benefits from well-timed comic relief and a well rounded cast. This is a B Western for sure but one of the more polished ones I have seen.

More nonsense about bandits of the old west.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 10 April 2011]

I have a natural prejudice against films that glorify relatively insignificant criminals from the old west. The likes of Jesse James, Billy the Kid and the Dalton Gang were raised to hero status in the 1930s and 40s--mostly because their lives were almost completely fictionalized by Hollywood. Much of this prejudice is because I am a retired history teacher and I hate to see the truth twisted way beyond the breaking point.

I was actually pretty surprised just how historically inaccurate this movie was considering it was supposedly based on a book by Emmett Dalton--the one surviving member of this notorious band of outlaws. That's because after serving about 15 years in prison, Emmett was pardoned because he'd found God and had become a model prisoner. And, his book "When the Daltons Rode" was NOT a homage to the gang but a book intended to de-glorify the criminal life. Surely this film was only VERY broadly based on the book--especially since in the film, Emmett appears to be killed at the end of the movie!! Even if you totally disregard the truth, "When the Daltons Rode" is a pretty bad film--mostly because the writing is pretty bad. For example, although Randolph Scott gets top billing, the audience has no idea why he's in the film. He's not one of the outlaws nor does he really play any sort of significant role in the movie. He and Kay Francis are there...but really add nothing to the picture and their romance is pretty difficult to believe. Also tough to believe is the finale. Although 4092390238409 shots are fired by the townspeople at the Daltons, very, very few manage to hit them! Can anyone be THAT bad with a gun?! And, when one of the Daltons somehow manages to survive long enough to make a 1 in a million shot at the evil lawman, you can't help but laugh! During this same finale, it's also hilariously bad when Andy Divine is killed--you just have to see it to believe it. Plus, who would have thought of having the likes of Divine and Stu Erwin as tough as nails criminals?!?! Sure, Broderick Crawfords and Brian Donlevy were fine--they had already been in many films as heavies--but Divine and Erwin?! Sheesh! The bottom line is that despite some nice polish from Universal Pictures, this is a bad, historically inaccurate and trite film. Plus, it manages to take a very good cast and completely waste it.

Pretty cheap production

[HotToastyRag · 2/10 · 2 July 2021]

Had I known just how bad When the Daltons Rode was going to be, I would have turned it off. I just kept thinking it was going to get better, so I kept watching it. After all, how many Randolph Scott westerns were awful? Not many; I've only turned off two of them.

This one followed the group of Dalton brothers (Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Stuart Erwin, Frank Albertson, and Andy Devine) who became outlaws in the Wild West. They start the movie off as just a regular family, getting into brawls and chasing after women - yet remaining devoted to their Irish mama. Then, when one man gets accidentally killed during a routine fistfight, they get arrested. Visiting lawyer Randolph Scott defends them but loses, and they declare they've had it with law and order. It's just as ridiculous and it sounds, and the rest of the movie is a montage of bank robberies and shoot-outs. Interspersed in the story is a love story that's incredibly difficult to root for. Before the Daltons got into a mess of trouble, Randolph Scott was actually in town to visit them since he remembered them from childhood. He meets Broderick's fiancé Kay Francis and falls for her. Badly done, Scottie! What did Brody ever do to you? Once he learned Kay was engaged, he shouldn't have pursued her any longer. I felt really bad for Brody, since he was nice and sweet and the only reason Kay left him was because Scottie was better looking.

Save yourself the seventy minutes and pick another Scottie western. He made almost seventy of them, so you have plenty to choose from. This one's production values, script, and directing are so subpar it's embarrassing. I'm usually not a Kay Francis fan, but I will give her this compliment: she had more energy in this movie than in any other of hers I'd seen. But can someone explain to me why Brian Donlevy, fresh from an Oscar nomination in 1939, was hardly in the movie? Third billing was hardly a consolation for such a small part.

Based on Emmett Dalton's autobiography

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 18 December 2023]

When an ex-outlaw writes a book about his criminal exploits, you have to wonder how much of what winds up on the printed page is fact and how much has been embellished for the reader. Then when said autobiography is adapted to the screen, there will, of course, be other fictional elements added. In this case, Universal's screenwriters concoct a romantic subplot between a made-up friend of the Daltons (played by Randolph Scott in a role meant for Walter Pidgeon) and a pretty damsel (Kay Francis) who lives in the same town.

This was Miss Francis' first and only western. Her role is a far cry from the more glamorous gals she portrayed a decade earlier in those sudsy melodramas at Warner Brothers. There are no Orry Kelly designs for her to wear in this production, but Vera West is credited as having supplied a few gowns. For the most part, Francis does well in a thankless role that is certainly not going to have much impact alongside a bunch of notorious men, though as always, she adds a note of grace and style.

As for Mr. Scott, his role also seems somewhat inconsequential at times. Yes, he's there as a pal of the family to try to persuade the Dalton boys to turn from their life of crime. But Ma Dalton (Mary Gordon) basically serves the same function. Also, because we know the Daltons won't stop until they are killed or captured during an ambush in Coffeyville, pleas to reform are futile.

The two older brothers, Grat (Brian Donlevy) and Bob (Broderick Crawford) are the most dangerous. Younger sibling Emmett (Frank Albertson) gets drawn into their daring robberies, and by the end of the tale, is the only one who survives.

The real life Emmett Dalton would be sentenced to prison for life in Kansas. Though by late 1907, at the age of 36, he was pardoned by the governor. He became a real estate developer and married. In fact, his widow served as a technical consultant on the film.

What's also interesting is that Emmett had appeared as himself in an early silent movie made shortly after his release from prison. His autobiography would not be published until 1931. But for many years, he remained in the public eye.

Getting back to the film, this is an 80-minute 'A' western with a more than adequate budget. It was put into production right after STAGECOACH (1939) had become a runaway hit, and after JESSE JAMES (1939) had proven to be a box office favorite...prompting Hollywood studios to create more epic western fare alongside the modestly budgeted 'B' oaters they turned out so quickly.

The actors give strong performances. There's some artful mise-en-scene; and director George Marshall is a pro at combining western action with humor. In 1945 the studio made a pseudo-sequel called THE DALTONS RIDE AGAIN. That time Alan Curtis played Emmett, and he was the main character.

When the Daltons Rode

[coltras35 · 9/10 · 23 April 2024]

Young lawyer Tod Jackson arrives in pioneer Kansas to visit his prosperous rancher friends the Daltons, just as the latter are in danger of losing their land to a crooked development company. When Tod tries to help them, a faked murder charge turns the Daltons into outlaws, but more victims than villains in this fictionalized version. Will Tod stay loyal to his friends despite falling in love with Bob Dalton's former fiancée Julie?

Randolph Scott has an unusual role in When the Daltons Rode as he plays a suited lawyer and doesn't fire a gun. He tries to defend the Daltons when they get a false murder charge, but to no avail. Broderick takes more of the lead role as Bob Dalton and does a great job as the other cast members do. The first half is light, and in the second half there's plenty of action when Dalton become outlaws - great stunts, exciting chases and robberies. There are two impressive stunt work featuring Stagecoach- the second one is unique as the Daltons transfer from the top of the stage to the horses and then unhitch them. What follows a long chase, a train robbery and the Daltons riding off the train via horses. Phew! Had to catch my breath with all this excitement. The pace is unrelentingly fast, under neath the light and action-packed veneer lies a tragic story. Mary Gordon as Ma Dalton emotes superbly and you do feel sorry for her. Andy Devine as Ozark lends some humour as a Casanova - the girls flock around him like bees around honey. It gives me some hope! I reckon this is one of the best outlaw/bank robbery westerns - probably the best one I have seen.