Despite the fact that it was easy to predict how the movie would end after about twenty minutes, it was a decent Western. Howard Duff did a good job as Blackjack Ketchum. The movie did a good job in showing Blackjack not only as a man with a fast gun, but someone with intelligence. Other than the predictable plot, the other weak part of the movie was the end. Although Jared Tetlow was portrayed as a man who let others do his dirty work for him, it made no sense not to have Blackjack and Tetlow square off at the end. I guess the audience was suppose to forget Blackjack killed Tetlow's brother at the beginning of the movie.
7 Reviews
Wooden, preposterous, silly -- disappointment
chipe6 June 2014
I really wanted to like this Western, but had to give it 5 out of 10 stars. It increasingly became painful to watch. The acting was wooden, especially Howard Duff's, and many others in the large cast. The main fault in the movie is the preposterous overblown script. I'll give a few examples: The heroine rides out to the bad guys' camp at night (a place she isn't familiar with and has no "right" being there), and lo and behold overhears the plan to stampede the herd, which resulted in the death of her father. The rich, powerful leader of the bad guys kills many leading citizens at point blank range, just like that. The bad guys easily intimidate a jury into voting a bad guy innocent. In one incredible move, the bad guys buy up all the guns and ammunition in town, so the good guys' posse is helpless! Another unheard of thing (so many silly stuff, one after another, I never saw in another movie) is that the bad guys have so many cattle and no place to water them, that they have to buy upland in the area, but no one will sell to them. One silly plot ploy after another.
Formulaic and Stale
nammage24 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This is the most stale western I've ever seen. The story is unoriginal, and stale. Baron bad guy with a professional killer and henchman who scare people to do what they want. Good guys are simple town folk who happen to also have a professional killer on their side.
There isn't much killing for two professional killers. And while I am sure there is some historical fact in the basis of the film, it does nothing for the film itself.
Directed by Earl Bellamy who mainly directed TV shows such as "The Lone Ranger", "Tales of Wells Fargo", "Bachelor Father", "Hart to Hart" and "Trapper John M.D.". In many ways this movie plays out as a television episode just expanded to be a film.
It stars Howard Duff who's probably best known on TV for his roles on the shows "Mr. Adams and Eve", "Dante", and "Felony Squad". Also Victor Jory who was in over a hundred films of mainly "B" quality but probably also best known for his television show "Manhunt".
The most passionate character, I feel, is the actress who plays the character of "Nita Riordan", Margaret Field. Mainly a bit player in TV and film, I felt she was the best thing in the entire film.
If I came in watching this mainly as a television episode, I think I may have been more into it but I didn't.
It's not the worst western I've seen but it's the same story I've seen countless times.
There was a scene in the middle where the "good" gunfighter was picking off the bad guys in a rock formation. He gets behind one, who then surrenders and throws down his gun, and this professional killer bends down while looking down, and slowly picks up the gun. My thought was the bad guy had enough time to punch him, and probably take the gunfighters gun from him and yet he just stands there.
I mention this particular scene because throughout there are many scenes just like that. It baffled me. Toward the end some scenes just became overly ridiculous especially with the over dramatic acting by some of the main characters. While in the beginning they are stale, by the end they are over dramatic. It baffled me.
Formulaic: beginning to end.
-Nam
There isn't much killing for two professional killers. And while I am sure there is some historical fact in the basis of the film, it does nothing for the film itself.
Directed by Earl Bellamy who mainly directed TV shows such as "The Lone Ranger", "Tales of Wells Fargo", "Bachelor Father", "Hart to Hart" and "Trapper John M.D.". In many ways this movie plays out as a television episode just expanded to be a film.
It stars Howard Duff who's probably best known on TV for his roles on the shows "Mr. Adams and Eve", "Dante", and "Felony Squad". Also Victor Jory who was in over a hundred films of mainly "B" quality but probably also best known for his television show "Manhunt".
The most passionate character, I feel, is the actress who plays the character of "Nita Riordan", Margaret Field. Mainly a bit player in TV and film, I felt she was the best thing in the entire film.
If I came in watching this mainly as a television episode, I think I may have been more into it but I didn't.
It's not the worst western I've seen but it's the same story I've seen countless times.
There was a scene in the middle where the "good" gunfighter was picking off the bad guys in a rock formation. He gets behind one, who then surrenders and throws down his gun, and this professional killer bends down while looking down, and slowly picks up the gun. My thought was the bad guy had enough time to punch him, and probably take the gunfighters gun from him and yet he just stands there.
I mention this particular scene because throughout there are many scenes just like that. It baffled me. Toward the end some scenes just became overly ridiculous especially with the over dramatic acting by some of the main characters. While in the beginning they are stale, by the end they are over dramatic. It baffled me.
Formulaic: beginning to end.
-Nam
'Blackjack' Ketchum
Oslo_Jargo19 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Unfortunately, this really is just an average Western. It relies too much on lousy scriptwriting and bad scenarios that seem implausible to convince any true Western film fan. One example is that Tom 'Blackjack' Ketchum (stiff actor Howard Duff) gives a bad guy back his pistol without taking out the bullets, and he later draws on him and thus 'Blackjack' Ketchum has to shoot him, which sets up the brother wanting to get revenge.
'Blackjack' Ketchum also takes on three bad guys with relative ease and it becomes such a distraction, much in the same way that Superman is so boring, as he's completely indestructible.
Later, 'Blackjack' Ketchum steals water from the bad guys while a guard is on duty, and also does other incredulous acts to thwart them. They have to walk back to town. That's infantile and some severe lazy writing. Cowboys know the rough life and can be written about in more believable manners. For a Western to work, you need to give the characters flaws and faults, which may destroy them. As it stands, this Western does nothing of the sort, instead relying on the bad guys incessant arguing and killing each other in silly scenes. "You don't want to follow my orders?!" (Bang, Bang!). Okay.
One of the writers is Luci Ward, which may explain the concocted scenes that don't work out at all. Maybe she didn't know the Western genre that well, even though she has a quite a few Westerns to her writing credits.
I think you can guess the ending rather easily given these assumptions. Hence, this Western is rather dull and flat. It doesn't help that Tom 'Blackjack' Ketchum (stiff actor Howard Duff) is so comatose and inanimate that he becomes only a tedious cartoon.
In some respects, this film seems like a 1950's TV Western. All the actors are deadly sluggish though.
'Blackjack' Ketchum also takes on three bad guys with relative ease and it becomes such a distraction, much in the same way that Superman is so boring, as he's completely indestructible.
Later, 'Blackjack' Ketchum steals water from the bad guys while a guard is on duty, and also does other incredulous acts to thwart them. They have to walk back to town. That's infantile and some severe lazy writing. Cowboys know the rough life and can be written about in more believable manners. For a Western to work, you need to give the characters flaws and faults, which may destroy them. As it stands, this Western does nothing of the sort, instead relying on the bad guys incessant arguing and killing each other in silly scenes. "You don't want to follow my orders?!" (Bang, Bang!). Okay.
One of the writers is Luci Ward, which may explain the concocted scenes that don't work out at all. Maybe she didn't know the Western genre that well, even though she has a quite a few Westerns to her writing credits.
I think you can guess the ending rather easily given these assumptions. Hence, this Western is rather dull and flat. It doesn't help that Tom 'Blackjack' Ketchum (stiff actor Howard Duff) is so comatose and inanimate that he becomes only a tedious cartoon.
In some respects, this film seems like a 1950's TV Western. All the actors are deadly sluggish though.
A bully rides into town.
mark.waltz20 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Two top notch performances had me riveted to this with a great conflict. Pompous Victor Jory is a power hungry man with a huge chip on his shoulder, determined to amass power any way he sees fit. He creates an instant enemy in the title character, square jawed Howard Duff who is revealed to be the man who killed his brother the previous year, and when Jory goes after rancher friends of his to attempt to buy him out, Duff determinedly sets out to stop this reign of terror.
It's the well done script that makes Jory a fleshed out villain, one of the best western movie bad guys I've seen in a long time. Margaret Field (mother of the legendary Sally) and Sidney Mason are great as Duff's love interest and her father who give Jory a real battle, while Angela Stevens co-stars as the woman whose life was saved by Duff and accidentally spills the beans to Jory.
Definitely more of a psychological western than your typical oater, adding this onto similar westerns and outdoor films like "Pursued", "Blood on the Moon", "The Furies" and "The Big Cat" that have a touch of noir guiding their mood.
It's the well done script that makes Jory a fleshed out villain, one of the best western movie bad guys I've seen in a long time. Margaret Field (mother of the legendary Sally) and Sidney Mason are great as Duff's love interest and her father who give Jory a real battle, while Angela Stevens co-stars as the woman whose life was saved by Duff and accidentally spills the beans to Jory.
Definitely more of a psychological western than your typical oater, adding this onto similar westerns and outdoor films like "Pursued", "Blood on the Moon", "The Furies" and "The Big Cat" that have a touch of noir guiding their mood.
Fairly pedestrian but with some good action
coltras356 April 2023
When a friend in New Mexico is about to be shot, Tom Ketchum draws his gun and kills the brother of Jared Tetlow, a wealthy cattleman. Tom goes to a ranch run by Nita Riordan and her father, where a relationship begins and marriage is discussed.
Tetlow returns, learns from Laurie Webster about the shooting and vows to get vengeance against the man who killed his brother. A cattle war begins as well, but law and order prevails and Tom decides to stay and settle down.
Based on a Louis L'amour, blackjack Ketchum, desperado features a good cast, but it's a fairly pedestrian western which has too much gabbing and longwinded face-off. It can be a bit dull and flat. However, it has some good location - Alabama Hills, Lone Pine - and great cinematography and some good action scenes. Victor Jory laps it up as the villain , however Howard Duff looks stiff as a board. It's a pity this isn't great as the novel was ace.
Tetlow returns, learns from Laurie Webster about the shooting and vows to get vengeance against the man who killed his brother. A cattle war begins as well, but law and order prevails and Tom decides to stay and settle down.
Based on a Louis L'amour, blackjack Ketchum, desperado features a good cast, but it's a fairly pedestrian western which has too much gabbing and longwinded face-off. It can be a bit dull and flat. However, it has some good location - Alabama Hills, Lone Pine - and great cinematography and some good action scenes. Victor Jory laps it up as the villain , however Howard Duff looks stiff as a board. It's a pity this isn't great as the novel was ace.
Not the worst from Sam Katzman's productions
searchanddestroy-121 May 2023
I have seen far far worse from producer Sam Katzman for sure, I would even say that only the opening credits score announces Katzman's style, no matter the name. For the rest, everything is foreseeable but quite good with a convincing Victor Jory as the villain, a ruthless cattle baron seeking revenge against Howard Duff's character who killed Jory's brother in self defense. So, aas you can see, it's an already seen scheme, topic. Earl Bellamy was then a newcomer in the movie industry before leaving for TV one. A good western without great expectations and worth watching for western buffs. For the period, late fifties, yes, it could have been in color.
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