Best of the Badmen (1951)

The outlaws of the Clanton and Younger gangs are the heroes of this fictionalized biography.

Director:

William D. Russell

Writers:

Robert Hardy Andrews (screenplay), John Twist (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert Ryan, Claire Trevor, Jack Buetel

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Ryan	...	Jeff Clanton
Claire Trevor	...	Lily
Jack Buetel	...	Bob Younger
Robert Preston	...	Matthew Fowler
Walter Brennan	...	'Doc' Butcher
Bruce Cabot	...	Cole Younger
John Archer	...	Curley Ringo
Lawrence Tierney	...	Jesse James
Barton MacLane	...	Joad
Tom Tyler	...	Frank James
Robert J. Wilke	...	Jim Younger (as Bob Wilke)
John Cliff	...	John Younger
Lee MacGregor	...	Lieutenant Blaine
Emmett Lynn	...	Oscar
Carleton Young	...	Wilson

Storyline

After the Civil War, Union Major Clanton captures survivors of Quantrill's Raiders, and gets them clemency at the cost of shooting a mob member. Convicted of murder by a kangaroo court, Clanton escapes and joins the former raiders in a gang devoted to robbing everything protected by the corrupt detective agency of his enemy Fowler; culminating in a personal showdown.

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Plot Keywords:

husband wife relationship | bartender | henchman | held at gunpoint | post civil war | 

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Taglines:

Here they come!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 November 1951 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Der Rächer

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Clanton is seen pouring bourbon under his bandage. He pours for about seven seconds, yet his pants, the bandage and his leg never show signs of getting wet. When he takes the bottle out from behind the bandage, it does not appear to have any less liquid in it.

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Quotes

Jeff Clanton: My troops are under orders to open fire in ten minutes from when I started up here. I haven't looked at my watch lately, but time isn't running backwards.

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Connections

Follows Badman's Territory (1946)

User Reviews

Another great RKO western

I really do enjoy the westerns made by RKO around this time.They seemed to include just about every outlaw roaming the west throughout a period of 100 years.They also employed just about every Western character actor available at the time.This even has the advantage of Technicolour which shows that this was clearly an A film.RKO had clearly decided that if Universal were going to throw all their horror characters in one film they would do the same in Westerns.They would of course make sure that most of the Badmen survived so they could use them in another film.For me the standout performance was of Walter Brennan.Any film with him had a big plus.Also that favourite Warner gangster Bart Mclane.