McCord's gang robs the stage carrying money to pay Indians for their land, and the notorious outlaw "The Oklahoma Kid" Jim Kincaid takes the money from McCord. McCord stakes a "sooner" claim on land which is to be used for a new town; in exchange for giving it up, he gets control of gambling and saloons. When Kincaid's father runs for mayor, McCord incites a mob to lynch the old man whom McCord has already framed for murder.
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Diverting western would be completely unmemorable except for the fact that it stars James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. Cagney is the hero wanting revenge for the hanging of his father by Bogey. The film features a solid supporting cast that includes Donald Crisp and Ward Bond, which helps as well, but this film really could have been any number of routine Tim Holt westerns, except for maybe one song and dance number performed by Cagney.
At start, Hollywood told Cagney that gangster films did not need two novel hippie tough-guys * * that Bogart was more than enough to satisfy the hungry moviegoers. Well Cagney smartly insisted that he indeed was no mere Bogey 'copy-cat'. He had brought his own characterization, his own flair of cynicism and dark eyes to the silver screen... including torque. And rightly so. Cagney indeed became his own tough guy. Where Bogey shaves tough, athletic, hard-boiled deadpan cynicism, Cagney duly presents cleverness, wit, and boyish charm. Together they curiously pair for this classic Western drama, and Cagney's first major screen role. And indeed Cagney shines here as Jim Kincaid (The Oklahoma Kid).To some degree Cagney nearly upstages Bogey here, with his clever, cocksure, fast-talking wit, to Bogart's serious, deadpan bantam. But Bogey does hold his own, nicely. However it is very clear that they are very different tough guy personalities. Some critics knitted that Bogey is almost a bore here, almost upstaged by Cagney. However, he indeed brought his own malice as Whip McCord. The remaining supportive cast are duly delightful. The ever- gorgeous Rosemary Lane (of the famous singing Lane sisters) as Jane Hardwick, the kindly, non-judgmental pioneer-girl who incidentally falls in love with Jim's rebellious, yet kind-bigheartedness... "the wrong man, for all the right reasons", and Donald Crisp (Judge Hardwick) who realizes that his kindly daughter rightfully loves the kind-hearted outlaw.
Fast, crackling, full-of-action western spectacular with some of the most vigorously directed and imaginatively handled action footage ever made. The land rush, one imagines, uses stock footage from Cimarron and it is true that one can spot the stunt men doubling for Bogart and Cagney in the forceful finale, but such stand-out scenes as Cagney's chase after the stage with its fantastic variety of inventive camera angles and clever cross-cutting as well as its inspired use of natural locations, the shoot-out with Bond on a freight train (marred slightly by use of a process screen), the attempted rescue and lynching, and the final confrontation between Stephens and Bogart are as exciting as anything of their kind.What makes this film especially exciting is that all this action is contained in the one film and in 80 minutes at that! In addition, this film has the advantage of its cast: Bogart makes an ideal western heavy and yet he was only once again to play a role even slightly similar and that was in Virginia City (1940). His only other western roles were in A Holy Terror in which he played foreman of the villain's ranch (he didn't know he was a villain) and Treasure of the Sierra Madre, a modern western set in Mexico. Cagney is in his element too as the personable, charmingly talkative, tough, law-unto-himself Kid. Among Bogart's henchmen it's nice to spot Ward Bond, Edward Pawley, Trevor Bardette (Pawley is especially convincing in his climactic scenes) and John Miljan as his smart lawyer and Arthur Aylesworth as a sombre, corrupted judge. On the other side of the fence are ranged Rosemary Lane, not the most beautiful heroine but a more realistic one and a pleasant change from the all glamor and no talent stereotype of the western girl. Donald Crisp plays an honest judge, the sort of role he could do standing on his head; Harvey Stephens is effective as the hero and Hugh Sothern has a meaty part as an empire builder. Charles Middleton is a lawyer on the right side for once and there is an amusing cameo by Ray Mayer as a frightened pianist.Bacon's direction is not only slick and assured but drives the film at a whipping pace. Production values are outstanding with vast sets, hordes of costumed extras, a Steiner music score, black-and- white photography by Wong Howe (though neither Howe nor Steiner have contributed their best work) and a fair amount of location shooting. The script has deftly combined most of the traditional elements of the western plot into a giant and extremely successful and effective block-buster.
This is an example of a film being better than its casting errors. The bar fight scene has some very interesting floor level camera angles (although these do help make the stunt doubles more obvious). I liked the positioning of the jail cell on the second floor of the courthouse. That seems to buck the standard Western trend of the combination Jail/Sheriff's office. I think this may be unique. As to Joe Pesci's reference in "Goodfellas", perhaps he finds this film so memorable because of the character named Indian Joe Pasco. Maybe his childhood pals nicknamed him Indian Joe Pesci. But, the scene his character in "Goodfellas" refers to (a cowboy shooting and saying "Dance") does not appear in this film. Also,in this films closing credits, the character is billed as "Indian Jack Pasco". Maybe the Title's Department didn't even take this film seriously.