Bandit Queen (1950) User Reviews

She snaps her whip well

[discount1957 · 5/10 · 20 October 2017]

Set in the days of old California, this piece of fantasy features Britton in the title role as the woman who, like batman, turns masked avenger when she witnesses the murder of her parents. In conjunction with Joaquin Murietta (Reed) she rids the territory of Parker and Maclane. Britton snaps her whip well, and looks extremely attractive, which is the main point in this otherwise routine-B-western.

Grade B Barbara Stanwyck like role

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 25 September 2022]

I would perfectly have imagined Barbara Stanwyck in this role, after her performances in THE FURIES, CATTLE QUEEN OF MONTANA, MAVERICK QUEEN and FORTY GUNS, all feminists westerns before their times. This is a grabe B and I would say Z picture, directed by Bill Berke who was very prolific on this matter, especially in the forties and early fifties. Watch out for his filmography, you'll be impressed, and all are agreeable low budget flicks from which it is nearly forbidden to expect something exceptional. His best work will remain his last films, maybe he had more ambition by the end of his life.

great western flick with female hero.

[SPACEPIG-1 · 3 August 2003]

i enjoyed the singing and action sequences as well as the bull whip thing. its a real oater but the photography is above average and there are some interesting plot devices and twists that are not seen in a lot of other westerns.

The hand who cracks the whip also rocks many cradles of the law.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 23 September 2023]

When law goes bad, nothing goes right, so good people decide to fight fire with fire by going bad, at least in the eyes of lawmakers using their power to break the law and get away with it. Sheriff Barton MacLane has been using his power to steal the gold off the land of struggling peasants, and in some cases uses the law for murder and the theft of property. Spanish senorita Barbara Britton (with a good old Spanish name) witnesses her parents being murdered under MacLane's orders and starts her own gang to steal back what was rightfully hers and what was rightfully others, and return it to the victims.

It turns out that MacLane has orders from higher up, and as his men are targeted one by one by Britton's gang, he becomes more desperate. This Eagle Lion western suffers from a very low budget, but is benefited by the presence of a strong supporting cast, particularly Martin Garralaga as a monk who acts as Britton's conscience, Philip Reed as an ally of hers, Willard Parker as an attorney who is on the side of the wronged and Thurston Hall as the governor who steps in to help expose the corruption.

Then there's familiar character actor Antonio Rossito as the diminutive Nino, providing uncomfortable comic relief along side of the motherly but tough Anna Demetrio, indicating a stereotype of small in stature, small in smarts. This is watchable but not really memorable, with Britton far too Caucasian to be believable as a Spanish spitfire. The blury prints are in major need of restoration but at least the sound is decent.