When the Daltons Rode

Thank goodness for the comic relief of Andy Devine or I wouldn't have had a chance to breathe! I've watched over 200 westerns in the last month (including over 95 John Wayne films) from 1926 onwards and I have to say that NONE of them had the action or pace of this one. Not to mention a stellar cast. The action scenes with horses were of the very best. There was the classic Yakima Canutt jump from the stagecoach to the horses but not just one jump but several of the Dalton's, one after the other from the same coach. There were horses jumping from moving trains and diving off cliffs into water and the pace just didn't let up. Gun play? Don't get me started! Half the budget must have gone to black powder. I don't care how you get to see this film, beg borrow or download, just get it.

This story of farmers becoming outlaws when the big shots screw them over is nothing new or all that different from the Westerns of the 40's. Indeed, the film has its Hays code required ending, its requisite action scenes and the soapy love triangle. This film will not win any new devotees of the genre. But if you are fond of Westerns this a good matinee flick to throw on.

A lot of it has to do with the stunt work and action scenes. While still be identifiably 40's, they stand out as impressive and even a little more realistic than you normally get from this genre and time period. The film also benefits from well-timed comic relief and a well rounded cast. This is a B Western for sure but one of the more polished ones I have seen.

A fast paced and often light-hearted film that purports to tell the story of the infamous Dalton gang, "When the Daltons Rode" boasts a fine cast of stalwart western actors under the sure direction of veteran George Marshall. Tod Jackson, a lawyer, stops in Kansas en route to Oklahoma to visit his childhood friends, the Dalton family. Convinced to stay long enough for a good visit, Jackson is smitten with the local telegraph operator and becomes involved in the Daltons' problems with a corrupt land-development company. The exciting action swings from a humorous melee in a courtroom to a wild shootout on the streets to robberies aboard speeding trains, although the film climaxes in a too-tidy finale.

Western icon Randolph Scott has top billing as Jackson, but he is often off screen, and Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, George Bancroft, and Andy Devine all have nearly equal roles. A romantic-triangle subplot features Kay Francis, and Mary Gordon plays Ma Dalton, matriarch to the unruly Dalton brood. Devine is the comedy relief, and he has some good moments, although both he and Crawford ostensibly perform stunts that neither of the beefy actors could convincingly accomplish. However, the film's stunt team should take a bow for their outstanding work with a slide under a racing stagecoach, with leaps from rocky cliffs onto moving rail cars, and with jumps from a speeding train while on horseback. A behind-the-camera asset is Hal Mohr's fine black-and-white cinematography, which beautifully captures the action and the western landscapes.

If your Saturday matinees featured posses and gunfights, brawls and chases, laconic cowboys and pretty school marms, "When the Daltons Rode" will bring back fond memories of popcorn, Milk Duds, and 25-cent movie tickets. Lots of action, a smidgen of humor, and a touch of romance, Marshall's film may not be among the classic or even best-remembered westerns, but all the elements of a solid oater are present and in top form for an entertaining afternoon at the movies.

Forget Randolph Scott who is Involved with this Sleight-of-Hand Billing and Should of Known Better.

Here He is Far-Cry from Boetticher and a Great Exit Decade of the 1950's where this Kind of Hoodwink would Certainly Be Beneath the Grizzled "Western-Movie" Icon with almost 70 Odd Under His Gun-Belt.

Speaking of Gun-Belts, Randy's is No-Where to be Seen. He is Primped-Up and Wears a Suit. The Only Thing He Does is Steal Broderick Crawford's (Grat Dalton) Girl-Friend (Kay Francis).

Thanks Randolph, Collect Your Paycheck...All is Forgiven Because...

The Rest of the Name Cast Has a Field-Day Along with the Yakima Canutt and Stunt-Team.

That's the 2nd-Half, when the Daltons Ride...Robbing Banks and Trains as the Wanted Posters Keep Raising the Bounty Exponentially.

When the Dalton Family is Railroaded for Murder and a Miscarriage of Justice, They Turn to the Rail-Roads for Much Needed Cash.

It's All Done with Fast-Pacing Action...

Incredible, Dangerous Criminal Dynamics as the Audience Forgets About Randolph Scott and Dives Into a Conglomerate of Hollywood Dream-Factory Western Shenanigans that Take the Breath Away.

Especially the Ending Town Shoot-Out with Hundreds of Bullets Flying and People Dropping Like Flies. Certainly One of the Most Gun-Crazy Movies of the Genre of that Era.

By Randy...See You in 10 Years when You Hook-Up with Budd Boetticher.

Say Thanks to Your Co-Stars...Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Andy Devine, George Bancroft, Frank Albertson, Stuart Erwin, with Mary Gordon, Kay Francis, and The Stunt-Team for "Saving Your Bacon".

East coast lawyer Tod Jackson (Randolph Scott) travels to Kansas where he meets the Dalton brothers: Grat (Brian Donlevy), Bob (Broderick Crawford), Ben (Stuart Erwin), and Emmett (Frank Albertson). They're farmers, with Bob a local law man, but when a crooked land company tries to steal their property, the brothers end up fugitives from the law. They soon embark on a spree of bank and train robberies that mark them as the most wanted men in the region. Meanwhile, Tod makes time with Bob's girlfriend Julie (Kay Francis).

The cast is good, but the goofy script is almost 100% pure baloney, and production lurches from nicely competent to threadbare and cheap. One primary problem is that ostensible protagonist Scott is pointless to most of the story. I kept waiting for him to be reluctantly forced to go after his old friends, but that never happens. His character could have been removed from the whole thing with little change to the overall tale. I expected Donlevy to take the lead among the Daltons, but instead it's Crawford who gets the leadership role. Andy Devine plays the comic relief, naturally, but his character is also an inveterate skirt-chaser with a succession of women on his knee, not exactly what one expects from Devine.

Two odds points from the film: there's a scene where the gang robs a train, and they steal the horses belonging to lawmen on the train. The horses are on an open-top corral train car, and they actually ride them off of the side of the moving train. It looked like an extremely dangerous stunt for the horses, but it's shown with no cuts, and none of the horses seemed injured, despite some spills. There's also a big shoot-out in the movie with the gang members inside a saloon with their opponents outside in the street and on opposite buildings. There is a lengthy exchange of gunfire through the saloon's large picture window, and the window never breaks, instead the bullets passing through and leaving bullet holes. Once or twice I can believe it, but a succession of rifle and pistol shots through a large sheet of glass and no shattering? That's some strong glass!