The outlaws of the Clanton and Younger gangs are the heroes of this fictionalized biography.
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Title: Best of the Badmen (1951)
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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 |
| Emmett Lynn | ... | Oscar | |
| Carleton Young | ... | Wilson | |
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Plot Summary
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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. Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords:
buxom | freebooter | one armed gunfighter | one armed soldier | gunfighter |Taglines:
Here they come!Genres:
WesternParents Guide:
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
1951 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
Der Rächer See more »Filming Locations:
Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)Color:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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Doc Butcher: Major, I collect bridles for souvenirs. And on the end of one, I was plumb surprised to find a horse!
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The name of the Alhambra Hotel and Bar was previously used by MGM in the 1946 award winning film The Harvey Girls starring Judy Garland and John Hodiak. Although her voice was dubbed, Angela Landsbury's character Em performed many a song and dance in the Alhambra. The Alhambra hotel name can still be found today in the U.S. and around the world. See more »Goofs
When Clanton meets with Mrs. Fowler in her hotel room, he puts her gun in his waste band and then puts his hands on his hips. The camera angle changes and his arms are suddenly straight down at his side. See more »Quotes
Jeff Clanton: Horse thief! You'll get life!Doc Butcher: Major, I collect bridles for souvenirs. And on the end of one, I was plumb surprised to find a horse!
See more »
Crazy Credits
Opening credits: "This story tells a forgotten chapter in the violent history of the West. Months after the tragic war between the States had ended there was still no peace on the Western Frontier." See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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What happens to Robert Ryan in Best Of The Badmen comes under the heading of no good deed goes unpunished. Ryan is a Union Army major who persuades the last of Quantrill's Raiders to give up and accept an amnesty. Those are his orders, but he also was waiting on his discharge. When both come around the same time it causes trouble when he shoots a man who was trying to prevent these outlaws from taking the oath of allegiance to the USA as prescribed in Lincoln's amnesty policy. Ryan gets arrested and tried and convicted and sentenced to hang.
Villain of the piece is Robert Preston who is a carpetbagger looking to set up a quasi dictatorship in the area. The script isn't too clear about just where this is all supposed to be. There were carpetbag governments in Texas, but not in Kansas or Missouri or in what was the Indian nations or Oklahoma. Be that as it may Preston is an unscrupulous nasty customer. He's so bad he has a wife who left him to sing in saloons. Claire Trevor also helps Ryan escape.
What else is Ryan to do but throw in with the same men he freed who are now real outlaws. An impressive cast was assembled by RKO that included Lawrence Tierney, Bruce Cabot, Jack Beutel, Robert Wilkie, Tom Tyler, John Archer, and Walter Brennan. Barton MacLane is his usual nasty rasping self as Preston's chief henchmen.
This really great cast puts over this western which is not terribly accurate.