When the Daltons Rode

Another new DVD release from the vaults of Universal that's about as action-packed as JESSE JAMES (1939), which also came out around the same time. This too, carries the same western myth that Hollywood has about certain outlaws. If society had only treated them fairly, then they wouldn't have become outlaws in the first place.

The Daltons have been railroaded off of their farm and turned into outlaws by greedy land speculators who manipulate the law to suit their own ends. So begins the chase out of the courthouse, through the woods and onto a moving train in order to make good their escape. It even has some good Yakima Canutt stunt work involving a stagecoach robbery.

Randolph Scott and his love interest Kay Francis really are on the sidelines as those who are siding with the Daltons in spirit, even though they aren't out robbing bank and trains with them. They're really are only supporting players here even though they headline in the credits.

The real star is Broderick Crawford who despite his New York Bronx accent, really shines here as the lead Dalton, even scene-stealing away from Brian Donlevy who takes a back seat. This movie is Crawford's show, no question about it.

Director George Marshall has done better with oaters like DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939) and Texas (1941), but this film is no slouch, either. There's not a lot of deep plot characterizations but if you want 40s action that moves along pretty nicely, then you can't go wrong here.

6½ out of 10

This story of farmers becoming outlaws when the big shots screw them over is nothing new or all that different from the Westerns of the 40's. Indeed, the film has its Hays code required ending, its requisite action scenes and the soapy love triangle. This film will not win any new devotees of the genre. But if you are fond of Westerns this a good matinee flick to throw on.

A lot of it has to do with the stunt work and action scenes. While still be identifiably 40's, they stand out as impressive and even a little more realistic than you normally get from this genre and time period. The film also benefits from well-timed comic relief and a well rounded cast. This is a B Western for sure but one of the more polished ones I have seen.

It is just shoddy handling that has made this splendid entertainment drop out of sight. It should have gone on accumulating admirers down the years.Director George Marshall missed out on attention too, though this film, DESTRY RIDES AGAIN and his succession of Glenn Ford films have a consistent, light handling that shows he was one of the best people in this field. Let's throw in the fact that Broderick Crawford has his biggest pre ALL THE KING'S MEN role. He gets as much screen time as top billed players Scott and Francis and acts them off the screen. He's terrific, in a straight role, as the chief Dalton Brother.

The film has the standard ingredients - shoot ups, chases, western timber town atmosphere, over-laid with the usual plot elements about the wrongly persecuted family. What isn't expected is the expert pacing, emphasis and the humor - the lynch mob bursting into the jail to find the whole gang waiting for them, guns drawn, is classic. The film also has one of the best filmings of the Yak Canutt routine of falling under the runaway coach horses. A class act.

Lawyer Randolph Scott arrives in Kansas just in time to witness childhood friends the Dalton brothers turned into outlaws and thieves, after doing battle with crooked business interests, stacked courts, and violent mobs of mindless vigilantes.

Top-billed Scott melts into the background as the film is easily stolen by it's real stars Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, and Andy Devine, who plays an overweight, hayseed version of Casanova, who joins the Dalton boys in order to get away from the large amount of aggressive women in his life!

Excellent, rowdy entertainment, this features some really awesome stunt work from Yakima Cannut, including the classic stagecoach backslide, where the stuntman goes from being dragged between the horses to the back of the coach by letting go and grabbing the back axle, as well as several horse jumps onto and from trains and cliffs, truly eye-popping! There's some exciting gun-play at work here too.

A good example of twisted Hollywood history, there's so much sympathy for the outlaws here, it's hard to imagine this making it past the National Board Of Review!

Thank goodness for the comic relief of Andy Devine or I wouldn't have had a chance to breathe! I've watched over 200 westerns in the last month (including over 95 John Wayne films) from 1926 onwards and I have to say that NONE of them had the action or pace of this one. Not to mention a stellar cast. The action scenes with horses were of the very best. There was the classic Yakima Canutt jump from the stagecoach to the horses but not just one jump but several of the Dalton's, one after the other from the same coach. There were horses jumping from moving trains and diving off cliffs into water and the pace just didn't let up. Gun play? Don't get me started! Half the budget must have gone to black powder. I don't care how you get to see this film, beg borrow or download, just get it.