The western outlaw biography "The Doolins of Oklahoma" is another rough-riding, bullet-blasting, gun-slinging outdoors saga about the notorious gang of bank robbers that plagued the Southwest during the 1890s. Scenarist Kenneth Gamet, who wrote scripts for several Randolph Scott westerns, including "Santa Fe," "Coroner Creek," "Man in the Saddle," and "The Stranger Wore A Gun," keeps things simple and straightforward. This law & order western puts the protagonist behind the eight ball, and director Gordon Douglas had no alternative but to let the Randolph Scott hero die since he plays a real-life outlaw and the Hays Production Code was still in effect.
Narration over action footage establishes the time and setting of "The Doolins of Oklahoma." The narrator begins: "There was a time when Oklahoma Territory had its great free ranges. The cowboy went about his daily work, contentment in his heart. His only boundarythe limitless horizon. These were peaceful days, then the cattle herds disappeared. The government cut the ranches into sections and they became farms ringed by barbed strands. The free range was no more. The cowboy, who would not be fenced in, stared in anger at the intruder, blaming him for their loss of livelihood. Instead of turning their hand to a plow, their hands went to the six-gun to take what they reasoned was rightfully theirs, then to be joined by others so the outlaw gangs. The James boys . . . the Younger brothers . . . then behind them the United States marshals pushing on relentlessly. It was our sworn duty to hunt down to destroy this lawless element. And then, finally, bolder than their forerunnersthe Daltons. Coffeyville, Kansas, October 5, 1892. The Dalton gang becoming so daring as to strike in broad daylight. The Dalton brothers, with Sam Powers, Bill Broadwell and Wichita Smith." As the narration concludes momentarily, we meet Bill Doolin (Randolph Scott of "Westbound") in a saloon at the bar, enjoying a drink. He is the victim of a lame horse. The local town sheriff brags to one and all that the townspeople and he blew the living daylights out of the Dalton gang. Doolin, who hasn't revealed his name yet, observes that the Dalton gang was shot down in the back. U. S. Marshal Sam Hughes (George Macready of "Gilda") approaches Doolin. He observes: "Never saw a man so bad he had to be shot in the back." Hughes' attitude takes Doolin by surprise. Doolin refuses to identify himself and leaves the saloon. In the stable, he discovers Bill Dalton. Dalton believes that Wichita squealed on the gang. Meanwhile, Wichita complains to Hughes and the town sheriff about flowers on the Dalton's graves. Wichita is anxious about this, so much so that he heads for the livery stable to hightail it and spots Bob Dalton through a crack in the plank walls. The informer circles around, entering the stable through the roof and surprises Bob and kills him. Wichita's luck with Doolin runs out; Doolin guns him down in self-defense, but our hero knows better than to stick around and argue his innocence. He skedattles and heads off to parts unknown.
Eventually, Doolin forms his own outlaw gang. Bitter Creek (John Ireland of "Red River"), Thomas 'Arkansas' Jones (Charles Kemper of "Yellow Sky") and Tulsa Jack Blake (Jock Mahoney of "Tarzan Goes to India") are members of Doolin's gang. A posse of lawmen pursues Doolin and company, and he decides to split his gang up and reunite with them in three months elsewhere after their trail has cooled off. Doolin gallops off to another town, Clayville, with Hughes in hot pursuit. He throws Hughes off his scent by hiding in a church and later buys a ranch from his bank robbery loot. He marries Elaine Burton (Virginia Huston of "The Racket"), but his outlaw cronies show up and ruin his marriage. Elaine's father convinces Doolin to leave Elaine for her ultimate good. Doolin and the gang resume their depredations with Hughes hot on their trail. Gradually, the law whittles the gang down, with a wounded Bitter Creek dying during a long ride across the badlands. Eventually, after all but two remain of the Doolin gang, Big Bill (Scott) and Little Bill (Noah Beery, Jr. of "Sergeant York") ride back to Bill's old homestead. He remembers fondly his days as a farmer with an alias and a wife that he had to give up. They ride to his old farm, but when Bill spots Elaine working it, he pushes Little Bill out the door, but Elaine catches them trying to sneak away. Bill wants to take Elaine to a 'no man's land' territory that neither Kansas nor Arkansas claims where they can resume their lives under a new alias. "From this moment on we're going to forget everything that happened in the past," Elaine agrees. Just as things are looking up for our outlaw protagonist, Marshal Hughes and Marshal Heck Thomas (Robert Barrat of "The Texans") come knocking at the farm; they pose as census takers to get information out of Elaine. Elaine heads off into town with money to buy supplies. Doolin heads off elsewhere, but before he returns, Hughes and his deputies turns up impersonating census takers and question Elaine about her husband. Elaine heads into town. Little Bill rides out to warn Doolin about Hughes. Doolin is riding with a herd of horses and needs to get into Clayville, so Little Bill stampedes the horses to give Doolin a way to sneak into town and get Elaine. During the stampede, Little Bill dies when his horse goes down. Meanwhile, Doolin finds Elaine in the church and orders her to head out with the words of Elaine's father ringing in his head that he must leave his daughter alone. Doolin accepts his destiny, sends Elaine away, and walks out to be shot by the posse.
"The Doolins of Oklahoma" is a predictable, run of the mill oater.
Narration over action footage establishes the time and setting of "The Doolins of Oklahoma." The narrator begins: "There was a time when Oklahoma Territory had its great free ranges. The cowboy went about his daily work, contentment in his heart. His only boundarythe limitless horizon. These were peaceful days, then the cattle herds disappeared. The government cut the ranches into sections and they became farms ringed by barbed strands. The free range was no more. The cowboy, who would not be fenced in, stared in anger at the intruder, blaming him for their loss of livelihood. Instead of turning their hand to a plow, their hands went to the six-gun to take what they reasoned was rightfully theirs, then to be joined by others so the outlaw gangs. The James boys . . . the Younger brothers . . . then behind them the United States marshals pushing on relentlessly. It was our sworn duty to hunt down to destroy this lawless element. And then, finally, bolder than their forerunnersthe Daltons. Coffeyville, Kansas, October 5, 1892. The Dalton gang becoming so daring as to strike in broad daylight. The Dalton brothers, with Sam Powers, Bill Broadwell and Wichita Smith." As the narration concludes momentarily, we meet Bill Doolin (Randolph Scott of "Westbound") in a saloon at the bar, enjoying a drink. He is the victim of a lame horse. The local town sheriff brags to one and all that the townspeople and he blew the living daylights out of the Dalton gang. Doolin, who hasn't revealed his name yet, observes that the Dalton gang was shot down in the back. U. S. Marshal Sam Hughes (George Macready of "Gilda") approaches Doolin. He observes: "Never saw a man so bad he had to be shot in the back." Hughes' attitude takes Doolin by surprise. Doolin refuses to identify himself and leaves the saloon. In the stable, he discovers Bill Dalton. Dalton believes that Wichita squealed on the gang. Meanwhile, Wichita complains to Hughes and the town sheriff about flowers on the Dalton's graves. Wichita is anxious about this, so much so that he heads for the livery stable to hightail it and spots Bob Dalton through a crack in the plank walls. The informer circles around, entering the stable through the roof and surprises Bob and kills him. Wichita's luck with Doolin runs out; Doolin guns him down in self-defense, but our hero knows better than to stick around and argue his innocence. He skedattles and heads off to parts unknown.
Eventually, Doolin forms his own outlaw gang. Bitter Creek (John Ireland of "Red River"), Thomas 'Arkansas' Jones (Charles Kemper of "Yellow Sky") and Tulsa Jack Blake (Jock Mahoney of "Tarzan Goes to India") are members of Doolin's gang. A posse of lawmen pursues Doolin and company, and he decides to split his gang up and reunite with them in three months elsewhere after their trail has cooled off. Doolin gallops off to another town, Clayville, with Hughes in hot pursuit. He throws Hughes off his scent by hiding in a church and later buys a ranch from his bank robbery loot. He marries Elaine Burton (Virginia Huston of "The Racket"), but his outlaw cronies show up and ruin his marriage. Elaine's father convinces Doolin to leave Elaine for her ultimate good. Doolin and the gang resume their depredations with Hughes hot on their trail. Gradually, the law whittles the gang down, with a wounded Bitter Creek dying during a long ride across the badlands. Eventually, after all but two remain of the Doolin gang, Big Bill (Scott) and Little Bill (Noah Beery, Jr. of "Sergeant York") ride back to Bill's old homestead. He remembers fondly his days as a farmer with an alias and a wife that he had to give up. They ride to his old farm, but when Bill spots Elaine working it, he pushes Little Bill out the door, but Elaine catches them trying to sneak away. Bill wants to take Elaine to a 'no man's land' territory that neither Kansas nor Arkansas claims where they can resume their lives under a new alias. "From this moment on we're going to forget everything that happened in the past," Elaine agrees. Just as things are looking up for our outlaw protagonist, Marshal Hughes and Marshal Heck Thomas (Robert Barrat of "The Texans") come knocking at the farm; they pose as census takers to get information out of Elaine. Elaine heads off into town with money to buy supplies. Doolin heads off elsewhere, but before he returns, Hughes and his deputies turns up impersonating census takers and question Elaine about her husband. Elaine heads into town. Little Bill rides out to warn Doolin about Hughes. Doolin is riding with a herd of horses and needs to get into Clayville, so Little Bill stampedes the horses to give Doolin a way to sneak into town and get Elaine. During the stampede, Little Bill dies when his horse goes down. Meanwhile, Doolin finds Elaine in the church and orders her to head out with the words of Elaine's father ringing in his head that he must leave his daughter alone. Doolin accepts his destiny, sends Elaine away, and walks out to be shot by the posse.
"The Doolins of Oklahoma" is a predictable, run of the mill oater.