The Dalton Girls

I have issues with watching old movies, particularly black and white films. The editing, the dialogue, the acting, the plot...etc. I have been trained by modern society too well, it sucks. And I feel bad about it, not enjoying old movies the way I should. Which brings me to the dalton girls. Loved it. It was ahead of its time in so many ways. The plot, the characters, even some of the dialogue. And the lead male was HOT, which is often not true in older movies and yes I am looking at you Humphrey Bogart and Fred Astaire. It was so fast paced compared to other movies at the time and fun and real. I only got annoyed once! So I am tired of hearing this "B-movie" attack on this movie. I am impressed. I wasn't even planning on watching this film. I just came home form drinking one night and found it on...and it takes a lot to grab my attention after i have been drinking. Cheers dalton ladies!

Actually this is not a half-bad Western if you're not expecting much, and certainly the title doesn't promise much in the way of artistry. What this B-flick has going for it are some well- staged scenes on the prairie and a couple of tough-minded chick scenes, especially the robbery episodes. The acting is uneven, to say the least. Merry Anders is fine as Holly, the leader, as is Lisa Davis as Rose, the second toughie. However, poor Sue George as Marigold should have auditioned for Leave It to Beaver. Maybe you won't have as much trouble as I did telling these "flowers" apart, but they do look alike and it can get confusing. Judging from the title, you'd probably expect more titillation than there is-- after all, this is the 1950's. Nonetheless, there is a legitimate feminist undercurrent even if much is compromised in the end. All in all, this minor production from a couple of old pro's (director Le Borg and producer Schenck) remains a rather interesting artifact as well as a fairly viable piece of period entertainment.

After the Dalton boys are killed by the law, one of the Dalton girls is forced to kill a lecherous mortician who tries to rape her. Being branded a murderess, the sisters follow in their brothers tracks and take up a life of crime. One of the sisters falls for a handsome gambler whom they rob and then develops second thoughts about a life of crime.

THE DALTON GIRLS is one of the last gasps of the true Hollywood "B" western. This film is no different from a zillion other such films except that the outlaws are female. The box on the Fang video edition describes the film as a "J.D. chick western", and thats how the female leads play their roles; like they just stepped out of some biker flick. Aside from having the outlaws being females, there something to be said about John Russell as the slightly aloof and philosophical gambler Gray. Its little unusual to have the films hero to be a man who, while not a criminal, isn't exactly squeaky clean either. John Russell was a handsome actor with a very good speaking voice, but was also often somewhat stiff. Here he puts his stiffness, good looks and good speaking voice to his advantage. Otherwise, THE DALTON GIRLS is just another B western. Its not a film that is any good, but nothing about it is done really bad enough to make to someone hate it or provide unintentional laughs.

Like Howard Hughes' "The Outlaw" (1943), "The Dalton Girls" (1957) was a mixed genre film; a standard "B" western with very deliberate exploitation elements. Although both films attempted a tie-in to real western history, "The Dalton Girls" wisely soft-peddled this element; the only connection being that the four girls were sisters of the guys who started the Dalton Gang.

Although almost any "B" western fan will enjoy the film, it is a must see for those who get off on cowgirls in tight jeans and gun belts. That was the film's drawing card at the time of its release and even today it doesn't get any better than Merry Anders, Lisa Davis, and Penny Edwards robbing stagecoaches and banks. Edwards is my all-time favorite cowgirl and does all the difficult riding stunts in the film. There is even a scene where she hogties a teenage boy.

The film also features John Russell (who would soon star in his own television show, "Lawman") as an early anti-hero. He is an interesting mix of Richard Boone's "Paladin" character (tough but philosophical) and Bret Maverick (a calculating realist of a gambler). Sam Rolfe may have seen this film in pre-release and incorporated some of Russell's traits into the "Paladin" character he was creating. Oddly, the character's name is W.T. (Illinois) Grey but he claims New Orleans as his hometown.

"The Dalton Girl's" moves along nicely and then kind of clunks to a stop with an extremely lame and rushed ending.

The screenwriter (Maurice Tombragel) obviously had a lot of fun with this adaptation, and the story operates on two levels. There are some nice self-parody elements inserted throughout the story. The best is a scene where Lisa Davis is singing about how having a gun is better than having a man:

"Oh you can't trust a man, because a man will lie. But a gun stays beside you, until the day that you die. Oh a man is a cheater, with his trifling ways. But a gun's always faithful, because a gun never strays. Oh a man is unfaithful, he will lead you to strife. But a gun is my true love, yes a gun is my life".

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I caught The Dalton Girls late last night on The Westerns Channel. It was a unique concept of female outlaws in the old west and I stayed with it all the way to the end because I wanted to find out the fate of each of the four girls. The story was easy to follow and the action scenes and stunt work were all well handled. The four Dalton Girls, sisters of the now deceased Dalton Brothers, are driven to a life of crime when Holly, the oldest, kills their brothers' undertaker for trying to rape her. She smashes him in the head with a shovel. With her three sisters, they set about robbing banks and stagecoaches. These girls are as good with guns and horses as any man. Holly (Merry Anders) tries to protect the youngest, Marigold (Sue George), who seems to not fit in with a life on the run. Rose (Lisa Davis), is a cold blooded killer doing just what she wants. Columbine (Penny Edwards) is an efficient criminal, but hopes to find a way out some day. It's even part musical. Rose sings "Can't Trust a Man" accompanied by Columbine on the harmonica. As I watched, I noticed a slight British accent creeping into some of Lisa Davis' lines, and I checked her out on IMDb. Sure enough, she was born in England. Penny Edwards was hand picked by Dale Evans to replace her as Roy Rogers gal pal in some RR movies when Dale was expecting a baby. John Russell is really good as the gambler who loves Columbine and keeps turning up wherever the girls go. This is a good western, overall, and is kind of a forerunner of the 1994 movie, "Bad Girls." Western fans will enjoy watching "The Dalton Girls."