The Bushwhackers

"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.

At times this seems like two separate movies:the first half is a mature study of a disgruntled war vet-the second half degenerates into a routine shoot 'em up. Ireland is great as the brooding war vet, Tierney(as in "Resevoir Dogs")the sullen villain. Chaney is reminiscent of Barrymore as the wheel-chair bound cattle baron. Highlight of the film is Chaney's damning accusation "You lose, soldier. You lose again!" Once the fireworks begin,all is predictable. Morris shows flashes of real talent as the corrupt town sheriff; Dell is good as the vixen. This one almost seems to be a pimer for the Ireland directed "Hannah Lee" that was released the following year. Worth staying up for, or at least setting the VCR.

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

With the Civil War over, ex-Rebel John Ireland vws never to kill a man again, and heads west. He gets caught up short in Missouri, where paralyzed Lon Chaney Jr. Is burning out land grant recipients because the railroad is going to come through, and make the land worth a fortune. He's assembled a team of baddies, including Laurence Tierney, Jack Elam, and daughter Myrna Dell; the good people, like newspaper editor Frank Marlowe and his daughter, Dorothy Malone, are scared to oppose him. The only thing standing in his way is a shortage of sociopaths. Some of Chaney's hirelings have scruples.

Rod Amateau's first movie as director has an overtly stated political theme, which is carried out in a heavy-handed fashion by a highly competent crew and interesting cast.. Yet while you can see the roots of ultra-violent spaghetti westerns here, it isn't well carried off.

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.