I know that "Drango" was sometimes translated as "Django", so I wonder if this could be considered the original Django film? At any rate, it's not very memorable.... the script is pretty good, it opens with a rousing but typical Western ballad, and some good scenes setting up the action with Drango's (Jeff Chandler) interaction with the recently "liberated" Southerners, but the film meanders until it's really nothing better than any other B oater. Chandler's performance is dull, and this is the main cause of the film's lack of luster. Julie London provides some good character moments, but her character almost seems to be coming from another film.

Intriguing bit of history circa 1865, as a Union Army major is assigned to bring law and order to a burnt-out, starving Georgia town, but finds the residents hostile to post-Civil War change. Director Hall Bartlett also wrote and co-produced this forgotten film for United Artists, which deals with some complex issues and fiercely tangled emotions and loyalties. Jeff Chandler is forthright in the lead, attempting to do his job politely and carefully, unarmed, but forced to fight an entire town seemingly bent on destruction and savagery. The dramatic scope of the proceedings is minimized for a 90-minute format, and the circumstances Bartlett chooses to focus on--a local man's trial, a tyrannical land baron's desired leadership--nearly reduces the power the director manages to build up in smaller corners (such as Chandler bringing a winter coat to an orphaned youngster). The absence of blacks (the freed slaves) is noticeable, though judging the movie on what is presented culls up much bigger problems. The townsfolk flip-flop laughably between the two sides (vicariously cheering evil, glinty-eyed Southerner Ronald Howard one minute, then turning inward and solemn once Chandler's Major Drango takes the floor). We don't see a full-scale view of what is transpiring personally within these people's lives (probably due to a limited budget), and so are forced to rely on the performances (which are adept) and the direction (the writing being alternately too soft and too harsh). The brutalities inherent to the scenario are discreetly presented--with one very important murder happening off-screen--but the affects are still quite strong. An intriguing drama for history buffs. ** from ****

This film grabbed me right from the start with it's opening theme and stark but crisp black and white cinematography. There's something fascinating about the character of Major Clint Drango, intent on winning over the citizens of Kennesaw Pass one at a time. In part to right the wrongs of Sherman's Army and his own involvement in the War as well, Drango's challenge is to bring the murderers of Henry Calder to justice. In so doing, he must gain the confidence of the citizens that Reconstruction will proceed with an emphasis on the law for everyone, not for a single man or for the army that won the War.I found it interesting that Clay Allen (Ronald Howard) distrusted Drango because the Major was an honest man. There seems to be a corollary there that resonates with the current state of political correctness, but I digress. The ebb and flow of the story with characters slowly taking sides was my best takeaway from the film. It helped that there was a great cast of familiar character actors here from the genre, folks like Milburn Stone, Walter Sande, Parley Baer and the venerable Donald Crisp. Julie London and Joanne Dru are also effective in somewhat understated roles, even though important to the story. John Lupton probably deserved a larger presence as Drango's adjutant, but I guess that's how the saber rattles.Overall, an intriguing Western with an out of the ordinary theme that moves along at a nice pace. The traditional good guy ending is tested along the way by forces that pit the citizens of a small town against each other, much like the Civil War did to the country. As a microcosm of that larger conflict, "Drango" delivers it's message well.

Either previous reviewers are confused as to exactly who John Lupton is or they're not watching the same movie I am. Previous reviewers state that Lupton's character Capt. Banning is out for revenge against the south-Incorrect! Banning is Major Drango's adjutant. His role in the film is more of a "spear carrier" than anything else. "Capt. escort the lady home"-"Capt. Go get the Doctor"- He expresses almost no opinion through out the film except on Christmas day when he tells the Major he needs to take a day off.Another reviewer has confused the characters completely and has Capt. Banning as the son of the Judge when in actually it is Ronald Howard, the Confedrete Villin...On the whole I thought this was a good plot but to squeezed into a short film to explore the subject properly. I like Jeff Chandler, but he overacts way to much in this one.