Borgarkeri
A bit overrated, but still an amazing film
Neive Bellamy
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Myron Clemons
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Billie Morin
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
denis888
Yeah, many old films were a real cliché - good cause, good guys, bad guys, war looming, fights, beautiful lady in between the fights, lone hero, sandy mountain views, horse riders, gun fights, silly dialogs, pathetic phrases, shallow plot, very correct and inspiring words written across the screen either at the beginning or at the end credits - well, this is more or less this old film about Bleeding Kansas and all in the interim that follows. There is nothing exciting, unusual, fresh or new here, just a bunch of predictable baddies, bunch of heroic goodies, lady, sands, trains, railroad, fights and yes, this is over before you can say Kansas Pacific. Very trite and banal
oscar-35
*Spoiler/plot- 1953, A railroad family becomes part of the Kansas railroad political matters leading up to the Civil War.*Special Stars- Sterling Hayden, Eve Miller, Barton MacLane.*Theme- The Union must be saved with the use of its railroads.*Trivia/location/goofs- Shot on Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth California. Sterling Hayden plays the lead well especially since his recently released background was as a successful WW2 OSS spy. Barton MacLane appears as a good guy this time instead of his usual 'baddie' role of his younger days.*Emotion- An enjoyable B-movie film of the pre-Civil War era. Railroad rolling stock/engines and scenic vistas was a plus to see the early Northwestern San Fernando Valley with Iverson Movie Ranch.
MartinHafer
While this is not a great film, it certainly is well worth watching--especially in light of Sterling Hayden's nice performance. While hardly a household name today and never a top star, Hayden was a terrific performer with his direct, no nonsense style of acting. Oddly, however, this film finds Barton MacLane playing a nice guy...can you figure?! The film begins with a particularly useless and bad prologue--it was poorly written and seemed to pull its punches as it didn't want to offend anyone...though the Civil War had been over for almost 90 years when the movie was made! It is set in Kansas just before the war and concerns the US government and railroad's desire to get the railroad completed...especially as it will be needed to bring in needed supplies if war breaks out (which it did). But, Quantrill and his gang are doing everything they can to sabotage the railroad, so an Engineer (Hayden) is brought in to help the foreman (MacLane) get the project completed. All in all, it's a pretty ordinary sort of film, though it plays fast and loose wit the facts...in particular Quantrill's life. Despite this, the film is enjoyable, well-made and worth seeing--even if you aren't a dyed in the wool western lover.
Tomlonso
I was going to write a scathing report of all the anachronisms in this movie, from the dynamite to the completed U.S. Capitol Dome to the knuckle couplers and air brakes on the railroad equipment (if they look familiar, it's because the engine and the baggage/coach combination were the stars of "Petticoat Junction") to Eve Miller's Capri slacks and Maidenform bra.But if I did I'd miss the point.This movie isn't about what happened in Kansas in the late 1850's, it's another trip into the Hollywood Old West. It's the kind of movie you'd watch on a Saturday afternoon to forget that C- Miss Kursinsky gave you in Algebra.Don't worry about the details. Just sit and relax, grab some popcorn and Juju Fruits and enjoy the ride. Which, at the end of the day, isn't all that bad.
