I have read comments saying that it's almost too bad Alan Ladd did Shane because his other Westerns get overlooked. Alan Ladd is an actor that you either like or dislike, so if you are a Ladd fan ( I have seen 35 movies of his), you will not overlook any Western he ever made. If I would rank his Westerns Branded would rank third behind Shane and the Badlanders. What really makes the movie is the unexpected ending ( spoilers ahead) where bandit Rubriz ( Joseph Calleia (who always played the bad guy)), is nicer then usual, raised Tonio after we was kidnapped as a child from the Lavery Family ( Charles Bickford and Serena Royale), and ends up basically sharing him with the family, instead of being killed. Ladd's character Choya is of course, tough and speaks few words. But unlike other other movies where he gets the girl ( The Glass Key, Boy On A Dolphin, The Blue Dahilia and Whispering Smith to name a few), Ruth Lavery ( Mona Freeman) gets the best of him before he starts to ride away like in Shane. Of course, Mona Freeman was very short ( 5ft 3in), so she was perfect for the notoriously short Ladd ( like Veronica Lake), but she was excellent as Ruth. Especially the final scene with her and Choya on the horse. I like Freeman best ( she is a knockout here), but Branded is one of about a dozen Ladd Classics ( ones where he was the star not an extra like Citizen Kane), and all except Shane are rarely shown, so if you like Freeman, Westerns, and especially Ladd ( who might be in about 95% of the scenes in the movie) it should be a must see.10/10 Stars.
Review of Branded
