Badman's Territory (1946)

Badman's Territory is a unique Randolph Scott film in that it has as its chief villain, a bloodthirsty United States Marshal in the person of Morgan Conway. Other than playing Dick Tracy this might be Mr. Conway's finest moment on screen.Randolph Scott is a local sheriff who's aiding Conway in pursuit of the James gang. When they get away, each blames the other, but Conway shoots Scott's brother James Warren who then is taken by the James gang to the Oklahoma panhandle, better known as the Badman's Territory. It's that because it is unorganized with no established law and therefore a haven for the famous outlaws of the west.They do flock there, everyone, the James gang, the Dalton gang, Belle Starr and Sam Bass. In real life none of these characters ever met, but this is Hollywood. Randy goes into the territory and finds all kinds of adventure and a little romance with Ann Richards.Conway's portrayal anticipates what Kirk Douglas did on screen many years later in his acclaimed western Posse. Conway's a bloodthirsty man who's got big ambitions for that strip of territory. Some of his actions indicate a man on horseback and in the post World War II era that would have struck a resonating tone with the movie going public.Of course it's outlaw Bruce Dern that brings Douglas down in Posse and in 1946 you had to have an honest sheriff in Randolph Scott do the deed. Still with Code restrictions in place, Badman's Territory is a good Randolph Scott western. And I'm sure made a few dollars for RKO back in the day.

This is a fine western, one of the better ones of its era and one that, sadly, is hardly known. Generally speaking, it''s a fun movie that should have a big audience. You can't find it on VHS or DVD and few people have ever heard of it. Just look at how few reviews there are on this website.The story is fast-moving because of a nice mixture of action, suspense, romance and even some comedy. Randolph Scott, Gabby Hayes, Ann Richards and Ray Collins are all fun to watch. Scott acted with Shirley Temple and with Astiare & Rogers, etc., but a western is where he looked the most comfortable. As a bonus, we get tough-guy film noir man Lawrence Tierney playing Jesse James!Not super, but a solid old western.

Old-fashioned: yes, but in the best sense of the phrase. This film has a kind of charm, without being too cornball. It isn't slow but is perfectly well-paced. The black-and-white photography is not as good as some Scott westerns but this is not a scenery type of western story. The sound recording must have been done on the cheap, but it doesn't really matter because this is a western and it surely wasn't made for the purpose of selling a soundtrack.Movies of all eras (especially today) substitute macho posturing or posing instead of manhood as it was defined in the old days. In contrast, there are two scenes in this film that offer good examples of how things might have really occurred back then. First, the scene where Scott's character just walks squarely into the corral and shoots the horse thief contains no dialog and doesn't need it (good representation of an old corral by the way). The other scene shows Gabby's character refusing to submit to the lawman's demands, knowing that he is about to be shot. He is shot with minimal dialog in a room quietly occupied by the two men alone.The fine line that was walked (and sometimes crossed over) between lawman and badman in the lawless areas of the west is well depicted in this film. I have used words like "depicted" in this review because the movie is intended as entertainment, not historical accuracy.Randolph Scott, Gabby and others in the cast did more than merely stroll through what could have been just another formula western. They give a good effort and movie fans are the beneficiaries.

Here is a great idea: make a western with all the famous outlaws showing up: Jesse and Frank James, The Dalton brothers, Belle Starr and Sam Bass. It must have been financially rewarding because two years later "Return of the Badmen" came out with many of the same actors. Scott is a sheriff that ends up in a town full of outlaws looking for his brother who had been shot. There he falls in love with Ann Richards, who runs a newspaper. The real bad guy is Morgan Conway, who is supposed to be the one on the side of the law. Gabby Hayes gives a great performance as Coyote, quite different from his usual sidekick roles. Fast paced and entertaining.