Der Arm des Bösen

First, Elliott Nugent was not specialized in westerns at all, nor in film noirs or sci-fi...Only? or may I say? mostly comedies and light hearted films. So this one can be seen as a performance from him, and a pretty efficient one. And what a surprise to see Bob Stack in a villain role, "gentle and sympathetic" villain, and also a Mickey Rooney in a unexpected role too; though not as terrific as the one he'll have in THE LAST MILE; Only Preston Foster is here as a classical character for him, the forever, lead character's friend or sidekick. good little film, from Eagle Lion's productions.

Clumsey easterner Mickey Rooney travels to Mexico to make a surprise visit to older brother Robert Stack, only to discover he's a smooth-talking, black-hearted under boss to a bandit that's terrorizing the locals and robbing banks north of the border. Trouble arises when he inadvertently brings along Texas Ranger Robert Preston.

Despite the movie being a fairly straight-faced affair, Rooney plays like it's a comedy most of the time. Meanwhile, Stack is dead serious and seriously mean, prompting one of the characters to suggest that he's possessed by evil spirits! The combination of the two actor's performances make the film seem pretty odd.

On the whole though, this is an entertaining adventure, with some good suspense scenes, as well as nice, picturesque Mexican scenery and decent production values.

Also, there's a neat psychological twist in the final scene. Maybe Stack is possessed after all.

When this film debuted in 1951, Mickey Rooney was not nearly as popular an actor in Hollywood as he'd been a decade earlier. And, so many of his previous films were nothing like "My Outlaw Brother" but were more slices of an idealized American life--minor love stories involving his Andy Hardy character or superficial musicals. Here, however, he is inexplicably in an independent B-western--a HUGE change of pace from the usual fancy MGM pieces he appeared in at the time. Now this is not a bad thing--as it did offer a nice change of pace and a chance to see him in a more gritty sort of film.

The movie begins with an Easterner (Rooney) showing up out West...unprepared and totally out of place. Despite this, he manages to find a friend in a local Texas Ranger (Robert Preston) who looks out for him. However, the Ranger is surprised to learn that his new friend, though quite likable, might just be the brother of a local outlaw who is wanted on both sides of the border. So, when this greenhorn travels into Mexico to find his brother, the Ranger tags along. What's next? See the film.

For a B-western, this is better than normal. Some better than average acting, a decent script and nice production values make this quite satisfying and worth your time--even with the odd ending where Rooney's character seems amazingly ambivalent with the way things ended up by the conclusion.

A south-of-the border oater most appropriate for those who remember the days when Mickey Rooney was one of the absolute biggest box office draws, for those who love Robert Preston and want to see him in an earlier film role, and for anyone who only came to love Robert Stack in The Untouchables and so then became motivated to see his earlier but less familiar film work, this is a fun matinée flick! A serious Preston, Stack not as the Elliot Ness type of good guy, but as a seriously evil and duplicitous villain, and Rooney providing the necessary comedic relief when needed. One surprise element you can see coming, one you cannot -- good fisticuffs, some stupid moves by the good guys, and some nice shoot-outs, all in black and white, what more do you need to go get the popcorn ready?

This was a pleasant surprise for me. I bought a set of DVD's at K-mart and this was one of the movies on the twin disc set. The picture quality was acceptable considering the age. The acting was quite good. Mickey managed to offer a few laughs as the clumsy easterner trying to fit in with the wild west. Robert Stack was a very convincing bad guy and Robert Preston was the straight shooting Texas Ranger. It had a good plot and moved along quite well for a movie from the 1950's. But it is the type of movie I grew up with so it seems normal to me. Younger people used to the full throttle action of today's movies might find it a bit slow, but they seldom even consider a movie like this. In all it was great fun for me.

One oddity was when Robert Preston as ranger Walters was at the map of Texas, he indicated the town of San Clemente about 50 miles south of present day San Vincente, Mx. I was unable to find a San Clemente, Mexico on any maps so it was just a part of the story line not a real location. There is a San Clemente, California but that is much farther away than 50 miles. Don't let that ruin the movie for you, it was a good one and it had a bit of a surprise at the end.

Pop some corn, pour a soda, and sit back to enjoy an old fashioned western from the 50's before there were special effects, back when actors had to act to earn a living.