The Bushwhackers

By the time Lawrence Tierney appeared in the b-western THE BUSHWHACKERS, his leading man career was finished.. but he's used importantly here, at least in the rudimentary stages: a hired thug appearing before crippled land baron Lon Chaney Jr and the lethal daughter who hired him to kill off random settlers...

Ironically, Chaney and daughter are correct about the squatters being more interested in big money than settling down... while Tierney continues bullying more underdogs, including passive leading man John Ireland, a Civil War veteran who, during a historic prelude, promised to never use a gun again...

The familiar plot-line seems somewhat original, mainly because the venomous Dell's Noreh Taylor, actually held back by her commanding/demanding father... she would have fared much better as the sole heavy, perhaps with hired-gun Lawrence Tierney being smitten with his blonde boss or... some kind of side-plot that would keep him around longer...

Unfortunately, the third-billed DILLINGER icon is anticlimactically killed halfway through, cutting the overall threat in half, leaving sparse closure between Ireland and the only person worthy of a vengeful showdown (left with henchman's henchman Jack Elam)... but at least he has honest newspaperman's idealist daughter Dorothy Malone (who handles a gun well herself) to retire with: He just needed to work a lot harder to rest with those laurels.

A pacifist-minded ex-Confederate gets caught up in a land war as he seeks a new life in post- Civil War Missouri.

Considering the bizarre cast, I guess I was hoping for too much. After all, the compelling Tierney, Elam, Chaney Jr. and Dell are all established movie toughies. Then there's the unpredictable Ireland and Morris, performers comfortable playing with a wobbly moral compass. And finally there's the luscious Malone playing the good citizen, though she could also wobble when necessary, e.g. Written On The Wind (1955). Trouble is Tierney's entirely wasted, disappearing early on. No scary stare or frozen face here. As a result, there's no logical showdown between him and Ireland, as dramatically promising as that would be. Also, Chaney only gets a few minutes of loopy screen time, while Morris seems unsure of what he's supposed to do as the Marshal. And the latter's really too bad since the Marshal's uncertainty could be the story's most interesting character.

The narrative itself is fairly familiar—greedy plotters trying to drive settlers off their land so they can cash in on the railway coming through. Not exactly a ground-breaking premise. On the other hand, shifting alliances among the town folk add character interest, while a restrained Ireland carries the film even though in a clichéd role. Still, I like the fact that the settlers organize themselves without waiting for the hero to save the day. That's a good non- clichéd touch.

All in all, I'm wondering how a budget indie like this was able to assemble such an exotic cast, and whether they had to haul legendary juicers like Tierney and Chaney out of the nearest Hollywood bar. Too bad the screenplay didn't make better use of these colorful characters. That would have made something truly memorable. Instead, we get an unexceptional if occasionally interesting western.

"The Bushwhackers" is one of the rare movies in which John Ireland had the male lead. Ireland was just an okay actor who did well in many of the supporting and smaller roles he got in films. But, he wasn't a top-drawer actor, and without the more handsome looks he was relegated to being a supporting actor and frequent cast member.

Ireland does well in this film. It's a different type of Western. The film opens with some gritty scenes of the Civil War and the war's end. Ireland's Jefferson Waring has had his fill of killing and guns, and he heads for the West to start life anew - without any firearms. When he reaches Independence, Missouri, he finds himself embroiled in a feud in which a land baron is trying to run off settlers. That was a worn-out plot of many Westerns in the 1950s.

The story has some nice twists, with Waring getting the short end of a couple of encounters and winding up in the hoosegow. And, naturally, there's a girl who eventually helps Waring change his mind about moving on.

Other characters include Marshal John Harding, played by Wayne Morris, and Cathy Sharpe, played by Dorothy Malone. A standard bad guy in Westerns is Jack Elam, here playing Cree. The big extra in this film, and reason to see it, is Lon Chaney Jr. He plays Artemus Taylor. I don't think Chaney was ever in another Western.

Ah, The Bushwhackers, also known as The Rebel, a Western packed to the rafters with ever watchable actors, but unfurled like an amateur homage to Oaters a decade or so before.

Co-written and directed by Rod Amateau, and starring John Ireland, Dorothy Malone, Lawrence Tierney, Lon Chaney Junior, Myrna Dell, Wayne Morris and Jack Elam, film finds Ireland as Civil War veteran Jefferson Waring, who has vowed to never pick up a gun in anger again. However, upon wandering into the town of Independence, Missouri, he finds a town awash with sinister rumblings as Lon Chaney's Don Vito Corleone figure - backed by Dell's nefarious daughter - is plotting to own all the local land because the Railroad is coming and there's going to be a high premium placed on said land.

Cue Waring being pulled from emotional pillar to emotional post, with Malone batting her eyelids amidst a strong portrayal of feisty sexuality, until he takes up the good fight for the greater good in readiness for the finale that holds no surprises. There's a mean spirited edge to the plot which keeps things interesting and spicy, and although they are under used, having Tierney and Elam as thugs for hire is always a good thing, but it's directed and edited in such a cack - handed way there's little to no flow to the picture. Making it practically impossible to invest in the characterisations.

Unfortunately the DVD print provided by Elstree Hill is a disgrace, not even up to the standard of a VHS copy of a copy! A shame because through the gloom and scrambled fuzz of the transfer, you can see Joseph Biroc's noirish photography trying to break out. The actors make it worth a watch, in that Western fans can tick it off their lists, but nobody should be fooled into thinking there's an exciting picture here, or that it has observational intelligence about a scarred war veteran, because it has neither and Amateau's subsequent "non" career in film after this tells you all you need to know. 5/10

A Confederate veteran Jeff Waring (John Ireland) arrives in Independence, Missouri shortly after the Civil War, still with intention of never using a gun again. He finds that rancher Artemus Taylor, an arthritic despot, and his henchies, Sam Tobin and Cree, are forcing out the settlers in order to claim their land for the incoming railroad.

The Bushwhackers is a well-acted western, with some interesting characters such Taylor's independent daughter who has a mean streak mile wide and even pips her father to that post on that score. The enchanting Dorothy Malone plays a daughter of a newspaperman who she berates for not revealing who is behind the attacks on other settlers. John Ireland is quite good as the pacifist, but you know he won't stay pacifist for long. Lon Chaney Jr. Steals the scene as the barmy rancher.

The plot is quite strong with some twist and turns and some grittiness is executed quite well. A little disjointed in places as scenes jump from one scene to another without flowing naturally, but it's a decent western with an arresting plot and fine characters. It's a little violent for its time - such as Jack Elam killing settlers and burning down the house with delight on his face - and has some noir flavour.