BEST OF THE BADMEN - 1951An action packed RKO western with a top flight cast that seems to just miss the mark. The cast includes, Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Robert Preston, Claire Trevor, Lawrence Tierney, Bruce Cabot, Jack Buetel and Barton MacLane.Bruce Cabot is the leader of a group of Confederate troops who refuse to surrender after the war ends. The men were part of Quantrill's Raiders and there is still a reward out for their capture. Robert Ryan is the Union officer in charge of tracking the Confederates down. This he does, and brings the group in. After they swear allegiance to the Union, they are released. This does not sit well with Jayhawker, Robert Preston. He runs a large detective agency and wants to hang the men for actions they took while with Quantrill. This quickly leads to trouble as Preston's men arrest the just released from Army service, Ryan. He is given a jumped up trial and sentenced to death. It is only the help of Preston's estranged wife, Claire Trevor that allows Ryan to escape.Ryan soon hooks up with the Ex-Confederates, and starts a war against Preston and his detective agency. They hit every bank and stage line that hires Preston's men as guards etc. Plenty of gunfights and chases abound throughout the film, but it really seems to go nowhere. As much as I like Robert Ryan, and I do, I think someone like Randolph Scott would have been better in the role.Bruce Cabot as the Confederate leader and Lawrence Tierney as Jesse James, are both seriously underused, while Claire Trevor seems to be just window dressing. Robert Preston is good in his bit as the carpetbagger lawman, as is the always reliable, Walter Brennan. Not by any means is this a bad film, but it could have been better with a firmer hand at the controls. This was the last feature film from director, William D. Russell who moved to television the next year. The d of p was Edward Cronjager. His work includes several decent westerns and film-noir. These include, CIMARRON, WESTERN UNION, I WAKE UP SCREAMING, CANYON PASSAGE, DESERT FURY, RELENTLESS, THE CAPTURE and POWDER RIVER.

That was Jack Buetel 's first part since the infamous "outlaw" and he is a bit too old for the part of an ingenuous young man in love with star Claire Trevor.Robert Ryan portrays a good man,generous and loyal ,who wants to give a second chance to renegades ,but he thwarts a hateful corrupt detective 's plans,is arrested and sentenced to death after a travesty of a trial:his enemy's wife ,who hates her husband ,helps him to escape and he becomes an outlaw,joining the men he wanted to rehabilitate.This is an action-packed western ,with chases,treason and a love affair,short and compact:there's never a dull moment. The badmen did really their best.

Whatever merit BEST OF THE BADMEN has as a movie can be traced to its cast of film veterans headed by ROBERT RYAN, ROBERT PRESTON, CLAIRE TREVOR, WALTER BRENNAN, BRUCE CABOT, JACK BEUTEL and LAWRENCE TIERNEY, all of whom look right at home in this post-Civil War western about Quantrill's Raiders who are still acting as though the war between the states isn't over.CLAIRE TREVOR has her usual hard-boiled role as Lily, a woman married to ROBERT PRESTON, a corrupt man out to capture the good Yankee, ROBERT RYAN--but who meets with resistance when his wife plots to help Ryan escape jail. The story is rather routine and not on too firm a footing toward the end, but it's all made enjoyable by the usual number of shootouts and roundups, all filmed in some fine Technicolor.While Preston and Cabot have the meatiest bad men roles, it's really Ryan and Trevor who walk off with the acting honors. As for JACK BEUTEL, it's easy to see why he never made it to major stardom despite his handsome good looks.

This film is not like your typical Western from the past, it has a very interesting story about the Quantrill Raiders from the South after the Civil war in the states. These Quantrill Raiders were still fighting the Civil War when it was over quite awhile ago, they meet up with Robert Ryan, (Jeff Clanton) a soldier in the Northern Army and he knows most of these Raiders and tries to help them get clemency from their war crimes. The Jesse James gang has joined up with the raiders and Lawrence Tierney, "Dillenger", plays the role of Jesse James. Robert Preston, (Matthew Flower) plays a carpetbagger who runs a Detective Agency and is out to kill Jeff Clanton, who is a lover of his wife, Claire Trevor,(Lily); and knows that Matt Flower is a crooked man out to make himself a fortune on capturing men who are Wanted and cash in on their reward money. Walter Brennan, (Doc Butcher) gives a great supporting role and lots of laughter. Great Western, enjoy.