RyothChatty ridiculous rating

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Spikeopath Badman's Territory is directed by Tim Whelan and written by Jack Natteford and Luci Ward. It stars Randolph Scott, George Hayes, Ann Richards, Ray Collins, James Warren, Morgan Conway, Virginia Sale and John Halloran. Music is by Roy Webb and cinematography by Robert de Grasse.The area known as Badman's Territory is a sort of no mans land not yet governed by statehood. No law resides there, the citizens themselves run the area, so as it stands it has become a safe haven for the outlaws and ragamuffins of the West. Into the Badman's Territorial town of Quinto comes lawman Mark Rowley (Scott), who after trailing his injured deputy brother into the area, finds a town bursting at the seams with political intrigue.A lively Oater out of RKO, Badman's Territory is only really guilty of cramming too much onto its plate of beans. The town of Quinto is home to some of the Wild West's most notable criminals, such as The James and Dalton Gangs et al, it's also home to many shifty politician types, Indians (as it's their land), business men, a leading lady of the press (Richards) and of course Randolph Scott and his bro played by James Warren. The writers take these character threads and try and weave them all together into a cohesive whole, thus we get an outlaw backdrop that never really materialises, a power of the press motif that apparently needed a romantic angle to push it along, and the looming annexation of the area into the Union provides the heartbeat of the story but comes off as a complex narrative piece since so much is going on. While director Whelan is required to insert a horse race, a square dance and the obligatory shoot-out to ensure nobody is bogged down by the ever present politico chatter.Scott is as always splendid in this environment, a natural, while Richards does fine work with a pleasingly strong female lead role. "Gabby" Hayes provides the lively comic relief and Conway is suitably oily as crooked lawman William Hampton. However, again because there is so much going on, supporting actors like Lawrence Tierney and Steve Brodie (Jessie James and Bob Dalton respectively) barely get time to impact on proceedings. Which since this is called Badman's Territory is a bit of a bum steer. But in spite of the too many cooks spoiling the broth theme at work, it's watchable stuff and definitely one for Randolph Scott fans to seek out. 6/10

MartinHafer From the onset, this film irritated me. While I love Randolph Scott films, he made a bunch in which the likes of the James gang and other baddies from the old west are elevated to epic proportions. First, it's bad history and second it makes the films dull--who wants to see another one of 192382504508 (give or take 6) such films. Truly this sort of thing is clichéd---VERY clichéd.The film begins by explaining how a tiny portion of Oklahoma had no law and as a result vicious gangs would hang out in the town of Quinto. Our hero, Randy, was chasing the James and Dalton gangs when his brother (also on the side of niceness) was nearly murdered by one of his own posse! It seems that the rich guy wanted to hang the brother's prisoner without a trial and without so much as a "hey, you", he shot the brother! Well, the James gang comes to the rescue (even though in real life they were evil) and they take the brother back with them to Quinto. Later, when Randolph Scott catches up, he learns from the jerk who shot the brother what supposedly happened and makes his way to Quinto. There, naturally, he meets up with a nice lady (a cliché herself, as she's a 'spunky owner of a newspaper'--a common character in such films). But when Belle Starr (another over-represented character from the old west) shows, both seem to have their eye on Randy.While Scott is in Quinto, he acts like a western social worker. First, he helps the newspaper owner as the baddies in town are determined to shut her down for good. Second, in a rarity in films, he actually helps the local Indian tribe to receive justice (wow...he forget to shoot them like they'd do in most westerns). What he doesn't realize, however, is that the jerk that shot his brother is now a US Marshall and has reported that Scott and his brother are both bandits!! What is poor old Randy to do?!"Badman's Territory", despite its many clichés, is not a bad film--nor is a particularly distinguished one. You can't help but like Scott's typical laconic style. But there isn't much else to distinguish this one from the huge crowd of similar films from this era--when it seemed that about 1/3 of all the output from Hollywood were westerns! By the way, there was one really odd thing about this film. Since George Hayes created his old coot persona of 'Gabby' in the mid-late 1930s, this lovable character was ALWAYS a good guy--brave, loyal and good. Here, however, the film begins with him working with the bad guys!! While he's kind of a nice baddie, he IS a law-breaking galoot! This just felt weird...sort of like when Randolph Scott played a baddie in his final film, "Ride the High Country". Weird....very weird.

Michael Morrison Hollywood and History do not, as a rule, go well together.Once again a western movie is damaged by over-saturation of big-name outlaws -- real people but who lived and died very differently from the script's portrayal.Frankly, I watched with trepidation, but was soon more than placated by the very high quality of cast -- and, shucks, the presence of Randolph Scott alone will usually save any movie.Here he is assisted by Gabby Hayes, in an unusual but surprisingly moving characterization, and by an actress of whom I know nothing, Ann Richards, a very lovely woman, but whose allegedly English accent never did sound quite right. Turns out she is from Australia.The bad guys were played by some, not just veterans, but champions, people such as Lawrence Tierney, Tom Tyler, Steve Brodie, and Nestor Paiva.A character named Belle Starr just captivated, just stole each scene she was in, and looking later at the list of players I realize why: She was played by the great Isabel Jewell.Several more wonderful actors did not even get credit, and once more we have to pause and say a little prayer of thanks for IMDb.com. There are John Hamilton, Buddy Roosevelt, Kermit Maynard, Emory Parnell, who even has some lines, and Elmo Lincoln.The great and unheralded Bud Osborne has a pivotal role early in the film, but no credit.Despite the foolishness in using some of the outlaw names, the script has a lot of very good dialog, and it moves, with lots of characters having lots of action."Badman's Territory" is, finally, a very good movie.

JimB-4 Perhaps the most disjointed, incomprehensible major studio film I've ever seen. I defy anyone to accurately encapsulize the plot in a sentence or even ten. I just watched this film and have no idea what it is about. Now, I love Westerns. I am almost fanatic in my appreciation of Randolph Scott and George 'Gabby' Hayes, and both of them are terrific in this movie. But the script is word spaghetti. The leading lady, Ann Richards, speaks with a British accent for no discernible plot reason, and she gives a performance slightly less believable than might have been obtained from a brick. Outlaw gangs from all over the West and all over the 19th century are thrown together without much apparent purpose other than their name value. Nothing much of interest or accuracy happens with any of them. Nestor Paiva, quite at home playing Italian peasants or gangsters, is bizarrely cast as Texas outlaw Sam Bass, who in real life died at 27, fourteen years younger than Paiva. Chief Thundercloud portrays the Arapaho chief Tahlequah, despite the fact that Tahlequah is a Cherokee name. Geography is tossed about like a piñata; Scott takes a pleasant little day ride on horseback from one end of Oklahoma to the other and back, an actual distance of about 750 miles, and the geographical location is actually referred to officially as "Badman's Territory." As if. None of this would matter if the movie were any good. History, geography, and real-life logic have been tossed willy-nilly into the air quite entertainingly in many movies before and since. But with the entertaining ones, it was possible usually to follow the story. It's great fun to watch Scott, and Hayes gives a particularly enjoyable and offbeat performance. But that's all, brother.