The Desperadoes
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Movie Reviews of The Desperadoes
Movie Review: A Pleasant, But Not Great Western
Summary: 3 Stars
This is one of those early films where they just seemed to throw in a little bit of everything in hopes that they would draw large audiences.
Briefly, Glenn Ford is a young outlaw who is supposed to ride into a town and rob a bank. He gets delayed, and by the time he gets there, the bank has already been robbed by his gang members. The local sheriff, Randolph Scott is an old friend of his, and they get reacquainted while Ford tries to figure out what to do next. Edgar Buchanan is an avuncular town mainstay who befriends Ford. And from there, it gets even more complicated.
The Desperadoes isn't a bad film. It's not unpleasant. It's just not up to the best of either Scott or Ford, who were two of our greatest Westrn movie heroes.
Movie Review: Worth watching but not great...
Summary: 3 Stars
Maybe the other reviewers are right about the historical significance of "The Desperadoes," but I'm in it for the entertainment and this film was only three-stars-worth. Except it was fun seeing Glenn Ford so VERY young and I could watch Randolph Scott jumping off his horse at the well over and over and not get at all bored. When men were men and all that jazz...Movie Review: Standard B western
Summary: 2 Stars
"The Desperados" is a 1943 western starring Randolph Scott, Claire Trevor, and Glenn Ford with Edgar Buchanan, Frances Ford, and Big Boy Williams. It was directed by Charles Vidor and was Columbia's first Technicolor film (they were the last major studio to adopt this technique)
Handsome Randolph Scott (1898-1987) started in silent films and made a name for himself in the 40s playing a variety of characters in a variety of films - "My Favorite Wife" (1940), "To the Shores of Tripoli" (1941), "Captain Kidd" (1945), "Home Sweet Homicide" (1946) - but by the 50s he was appearing exclusively in B westerns . He amassed a fortune from California real estate investments, and retired from film making because he considered his performance in "Ride the High Country" (1962) to be a good note to go out on. In this film Scott plays a sheriff.
Quiet and handsome Glenn Ford (1916-2006) appeared in more than 100 films from 1937 to 1991. He was nominated for a Golden Globe 3 times and won once ("Pocketful of Miracles" in 1961). Ford could do light comedy (e.g., "Teahouse of the August Moon", "Courtship of Eddie's Father", "Don't Go Near the Water") as well as drama (e.g., "Blackboard Jungle", "3:10 to Yuma"). He enjoyed playing the everyman and said that "it gives the audience someone real to identify with. I never play anyone but myself on screen." Ford plays an outlaw. He was still not a leading man yet, but soon he would become one of Columbia's biggest stars in the 40s and 50s.
Claire Trevor (1910-2000) was dubbed the "Queen of film noir" because of her roles in films like "Street of Chance" (1942), "Murder My Sweet" (1944), and "Born to Kill" (1947), but in fact she had quite a varied career in multiple genres and was nominated for an Oscar 3 times ("Dead End", "Key Largo", "The High and the Mighty") and an Emmy 2 times (1950, 1954). She made more than 50 films before transitioning to TV in the 50s. I liked her best in "The High and the Mighty", one of 4 films she did with John Wayne. Trevor plays the owner of a saloon.
Big Boy Williams (1899-1962) stuck out in more than 200 films, often as a comic sidekick in films like "Dodge City" (1939), "Santa Fe Trail" (1940) "The Alamo" (1960), and "The Comancheros" (1961). He transitioned to TV in the 50s appearing in "My Friend Flicka" (1955-6) and more notably in "Circus Boy" (1956-7). He plays Ford's sidekick and comic relief.
Evelyn Keyes (1916-2008) plays Ford's love interest. She was the wife of director Charles Vidor and had recently achieved some note playing Scarlett's sister in "GWTW" (1939). She made more than 40 films, 3 of them with Vidor. She was also married to director John Huston.
Edgar Buchanan (1903-1979) plays stagecoach driver "Uncle Willie". His gruff appearance and gravelly voice adorned more than 100 films ("Over the Hill Gang", "McClintock", "Ride the High Country", "Cimarron",) and he later appeared on several TV shows including Cade's County (1971-2) and most notably "Petticoat Junction" (1963-70) and "Green Acres" (1965-9) as Uncle Joe.
Charles Vidor (1900-1959) made more than 30 films between 1929 and 1960, and was twice nominated for a DGA ("Hans Christian Anderson" and "Love me or Leave me"). He's best known for "A Song to Remember" (1945), "Song without End" (1960) and "A Farewell to Arms". The direction in this film is OK and he does a good job with the outdoor locations, but it never rises to a standard to set it apart, as did films from people like Ford, Hawks, and Hathaway.
The film is a standard B western, marred by the acting of Scott and Ford, both of whom seem to be going through the motions without any real conviction. Claire Trevor does her usual good job, as does Big Boy Williams and Evelyn Keyes. The standout is Edgar Buchanan who grumbles his way through every scene, stealing it along the way.
The star of the film, in its time, was the 3 strip Technicolor. Although in use from 1929, the costs of the process limited its use, especially during the Depression years. The first feature film using this process did not appear until 1935 ("Becky Sharp" from RKO) but it was the success of "Snow White" (1937) that propelled its greater adoption. Even so, it wasn't until the 1950s that color films became commonplace, largely as an attempt to undercut the popularity of TV. For example, Oscar winners in 1950 like "All About Eve", "Sunset Boulevard", "The Third Man", and "The Asphalt Jungle" were all shot in black and white, and top grossing films like "Born Yesterday", "Father of the Bride", and Martin & Lewis' "At War with the Army" were monochrome.
1943 was an OK year in films - The top grossing films included "This is the Army", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Song of Bernadette", "Coney Island", and "Stage Door Canteen". Other notables included "The Ox Bow Incident". The big Oscar winner was "Going My Way", and other winners included "Gaslight" and "None But the Lonely Heart"
Western films were particularly popular in the early 40s - "Mark of Zorro" (1940), "Santa Fe Trail" (1940), "Virginia City" (1940), "The Westerner" (1940), "They Died with Their Boots On" (1941), and "The Ox Bow Incident" (1943) were some of the classics made at this time.
Apart from the historical role of Technicolor, this film has little to recommend it, especially considering the fine westerns that were made at the same time.
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