The Badge of Marshal Brennan (1957)

Just watched on Netflex streaming another Jim Davis western. In this one, he's Jeff Harlan who's on the run when he encounters Marshal Matt Brennan (Douglas Fowley) dying in the desert. He then takes his identity and ends up helping the nearest town doctor (Harry Lauter) as he tries to stop some infected cattle from leaving the premises as he tries to find the antidote for the people affected. But the Donaphins (Louis Jean Heydt and Lee Van Cleef as father and son, respectively) are intent to push their cattle across the river so of course a fight is inevitable...This was quite a big role for Davis as he's top-billed for the first time here and has the lion's share of scenes. And this was also the first time I've seen him have some romance in his old movies with Arleen Whelan as Murdock providing such an alluring presence. Also interesting seeing country music stars Carl Smith as the sheriff and Marty Robbins as Felipe. The fender guitar music by Ramey Idriss was also a cool accompaniment to the score and I also liked the unique directorial touches of Albert C. Gannaway like Van Cleef throwing that vial of blood on the camera lens or that shadow of Davis when he mentions about not running away from it. So on that note, I highly recommend The Badge of Marshal Brennan.

This is one of the better 'B' Westerns you're likely to come across, featuring Jim Davis in the role of a somewhat ambiguous outlaw who takes up a badge after he comes upon a dying marshal in Apache territory. Their brief conversation provides an ever present backdrop to the story, with constant references to a man's inability to outrun his shadow. The 'new' Marshal Brennan finds himself in the town of Banock, where a doctor (Harry Lauter) suspects that an outbreak of black spot fever might be about to overrun the town. Together with Sheriff Carl Smith (Carl Smith, can you believe that?), the pair manage to hold off the villainous Donaphin forces, whose diseased cattle threaten the entire territory.I liked the pacing and development of the story, with some rather unique elements that I haven't seen in a Western before. The most interesting was the scene where Shad Donaphin (Lee Van Cleef) breaks Doc Hale's vial of blood, and the contents are shown dripping down the face of the camera lens to give added emphasis. There was also that scene when the Donaphin goons were about to hang the Doc just before the marshal makes the save - just how tall a tree was that where they rigged up the noose - and how did they get the rope up there? Holy cow, it looked like the branch was a hundred feet high! One of the bad guy posse even remarked how this tree should hold, which made me wonder why they couldn't find a normal size tree. They're like everywhere aren't they?I have to say, this was definitely the most intelligent role I've ever seen Harry Lauter in. I best remember him as a kid from watching 'Tales of the Texas Rangers', and have usually seen him in either dubious good guy roles or as an inept villain in classic TV episodes of Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and a host of others. He actually did a commendable job here as a wise and brave country doctor who wasn't afraid to mix it up with the baddies when necessary. It was also gratifying to see that the local sheriff wasn't in the pocket of town boss Colonel Donaphin (Louis Jean Heydt), although you couldn't really tell during his first screen conversation with Brennan. It looked like a classic set up for the figurehead lawman to try and thwart the good guy from getting the upper hand, as all the while, it was repeatedly teased that the marshal would just ride off into the sunset instead of getting mixed up with the locals. One thing I'm always on the lookout for in older films is the sense of life in simpler times, as in the price of goods at Murdock's Café. How about ham and eggs for a quarter, red beans for a dime, and cup of coffee for a nickel! Arleen Whelan did a fine job as Miss Murdock, although I still find it a little difficult to think that Brennan would allow himself to be roped into a romance by the show's finale. For an almost prophetic insight into the spaghetti Western genre of the Seventies, keep your hearing tuned to the musical score throughout the film. The frequent strumming of an electric guitar was a constant thread, and the reverberating drumbeat during the massing of Donaphin's men on the cliff just before the cattle drive were great accompaniments to the action. There was even that lively theme song to bookend the story about a man on the run, very ambitious for a 'B' flick.The one thing that had me scratching my head though occurred right at the very end of the picture. As the good guys make there way back in to town following the clash with the Donaphin's, they're shown heading to Murdock's café, standing alone almost at the edge of the river. Correct me if I'm wrong, but all throughout the picture, Murdock's was right in the middle of town!

I'm watching it on the western station, as I write this. Jim Davis stars, Carl Smith,, first husband of June Carter Cash, plays the town sheriff and Marty Robbins, as a blond Mexican, co-star, both are famous Country singers but don't sing in this offbeat western. Through out the movie, as noted in other comments, a fender guitarist plays music that occasionally seems appropriate. The movie is about a bad guy(Davis) reformed by a conversation with a dying Marshall, he encounters as he is on the run.He poses as the Marshall and saves a town from the diseased cattle of Lee Van Cleef. Not an A movie but definitely watchable.

The Badge of Marshal Brennan is a "B" western starring Jim Davis who later gained fame as the Ewing patriarch in Dallas. Davis was an imposing gentleman with a rugged face and a deep commanding voice. He played villains in "A" westerns and heroes in "B" westerns. In The Badge of Marshal Brennan he plays "The Stranger", a man on the run, who comes across a dying marshal. After the marshal dies, he buries the body and takes the badge. At the next town, he is mistaken for the dead marshal. The town had sent for Marshal Brennan because of an epidemic, outlaws and panic. The Stranger sees it as a chance to hide from his pursuers. What he doesn't realize is that by taking on the badge of Marshal Brennan, he takes on the responsibilities of the dead marshal.It is an excellent movie, one I remember well, even after many years. Davis, as always, give a strong performance as a man who has to look inside himself and finds much more there than he thought. It has mystical overtones that are interesting but do not interfere with its tough "B" western quality. If it ever comes out on DVD, I would strongly recommend it to any western fan.