Le cavalier fantôme

This is one of the B Western films that has everything, great stars, great plot, surprises, good guys, bad guys, etc.

Brennen does an excellent job as Brimstone, a grizley old man that is bad to the bone and expects his moron sons to be just as bad. The exception being James Brown.

Rod Cameron plays a great part but in my opinion, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams steals the show.

"Gracious, I always talk Spanish when I'm eatin', makes the food taste better"

Watch it, tape it and watch it again. You'll always find some hidden part or line that'll connect for you.

Pop "Brimstone" Courteen (Walter Brennan) and his sons, Nick, Luke and Bud, run a ranch outside the town of Gunsight, and are none too happy about the recent arrival of homesteaders in the area. Determined to cut off the interlopers' supplies, the Courteens rob incoming stagecoaches and even the local bank. But things change when a U. S. marshal (Rod Cameron) arrives in town to investigate, and Bud falls in love with one of the hated homesteaders.

Brimstone is a thoroughly engaging western with plenty of family conflicts, shoot-'em-up action, twist and turns, smart dialogue and betrayals. It's fast-paced, tightly-plotted with strong characterisation. Forest Tucker plays a crooked sheriff mixed up in the Courteens' misdeeds, Rod Cameron plays an undercover federal agent with a scheme of his own to bring down Pop and the boys, but it's Walter Brennan in an atypical role as Pop who steals the scene. He's a real horrid character and the embodiment of a dysfunctional father; he's quite abusive, verbally and physically. He puts them down and controls them with an iron fist. No wonder his sons are bad 'uns. Well one of them isn't so bad, he's in love with a homesteader and Brennan doesn't approve. When he learns the couple have eloped, his response is to go after Bud and kill him! What a loving father. Jack Lambert, who plays one of Pop's sons, lends some humour as a lard-headed thug who is surprised that the earth is round! Ends with an exciting Stagecoach chase.

This Republic Pictures western is at least a real western, and not a cabaret, music hall, burlesque revue movie - called western because it took place in the late 1870's - for which Republic studios were the specialists of. It is an action packed movie, also offering Walter Brennan, as good and convincing as usual, and also Jim Davis, before he became notorious as one of the DALLAS series Ewing leader. Yes, I like this Joseph Kane's western he who was the main western provider for Republic Pictures. The Trucolor helps a lot to appreciate the film and the story holds you all long the story. So, for those among you who are used to the Republic westerns, this one is good, yes, but offers nothing special, with Rod Cameron and Forrest Tucker, as in a John Ford's western, Ward Bond and John Wayne.

This one would have gone over well with the under 12 crowd, many years ago. For you young folk, once upon a time movie theaters had matinees for kids every Saturday morning. Starting times varied - ours started at 10:00 am, and consisted of some cartoons, a serial, maybe a comedy short, and then a (fair-to-middling) western feature film. "Brimstone" would have filled the bill for one of these, and if I were 11 I would have rated it higher.

"Brimstone" is a typical two-dimensional western devoid of rational thought and motivation, the type produced by the carload by Poverty Row studios in the 40's. It has lots of action, with fistfights and shoot-outs and hombres talking tough. This one has stalwart Rod Cameron as a US Marshal trying to apprehend some stage robbers, in fact a family of them. The family is headed by Walter Brennan in iron-fisted fashion as a cantankerous old rancher, and he makes the most out of his chance to carry a movie. He is like Moe and his sons like the other Stooges, aided by some unintentionally funny dialogue and knockabout comedy, as the British would say. (Of course,this is supposed to be deadly serious stuff).

There are the usual plot dead ends and unresolved loose ends which I always find annoying, but at the age of 11, who would notice? There is enough action to fire up the young audience, and cause the matron to descend on us and order all concerned to be quiet, flashlight in hand.

In continuing to review movies and TV appearances of the original "Dallas" cast in chronological order, we're once again in 1949 with Jim Davis once again playing an antagonist in Brimstone having previously been in Hellfire early in the year. He's one of the sons of Walter Brennan who's long resented all the settlers that have-what he believes-invaded his land and has no qualms about robbing and killing to get what he wants. Rod Cameron plays someone who aims to stop Brennan and his family. Forrest Tucker, also from Hellfire, once again plays a lawman but you might be surprised about his motivations. I'll stop there and just say that Davis has his most exciting scenes that I've seen him in during his younger days in this movie especially concerning his fate here. And I also like the way some characters turn loyalties on a dime. And how about when Brennan's other son, Jack Lambert, asks how the world can be round since if it was so, "...the people down in China would be standing on their heads!" Oh, one more thing: James Brown, the youngest son, would also appear in the later seasons of "Dallas" as Harry McSween. So on that note, I highly recommend Brimstone.