The Maverick Queen

In The Maverick Queen you will find the characters of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid in support of Barbara Stanwyck. But Howard Petrie and Scott Brady aren't anything like Paul Newman and Robert Redford. You won't hear Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head. And Brady as Sundance is a sexual predator as well.

The Maverick Queen was made in the last days of Republic Pictures which was the home of the B movie cowboy. Gene Autry and Roy Rogers and a bunch of others toiled there for a while. The last of them, Rex Allen, had just finished doing his series. The films that these guys did were now being made for television. Something like The Maverick Queen would never have been made at Republic ten years ago.

This movie is about sex, it concentrates on Barbara Stanwyck who operates against her own interest because of her attraction for Barry Sullivan. She's tired of the Sundance Kid as a lover, in fact she urges him to take a bath before putting the moves on her again when we first meet her.

As for Brady when it becomes obvious about her attraction to Sullivan, he tries to kill Stanwyck and later attempts to rape Mary Murphy. Rape was not something found in Republic westerns. The film is directed by Joseph Kane who directed a ton of films there with Autry, Rogers, and the rest of the cowboy stars.

The Maverick Queen boasts some nice location photography and was the first of Republic's films to be filmed for the wide screen. It's based on a Zane Grey novel and I never would have dreamed that Grey would have written anything like that. Joni James also sings the title song over the credits and I liked her rendition of it.

Unfortunately The Maverick Queen should have been done when the Code was finally done away with, a lot of plot holes might not have occurred. It also should have been in the hands of director not from the grind 'em out school of B westerns. It might have been a whole lot better.

Tough gal Kit Banlon opens a hotel and saloon out in frontier Colorado that soon becomes a haven of gamblers and gunfighters. With notable patrons being none other than Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Fighting off the romantic advances of Sundance, Kit's life gets more interesting when she becomes attracted to a relative of the Younger Brothers' outlaw posse. Or is he? Whispers in the shadows point to the handsome stranger perhaps being a law man on the trail of the infamous Wild Bunch. Kit could very well be jeopardising much more than a unfulfilled romance if she falls in with the stranger?

Directed by the genre prolific Joe Kane and based upon on the novel written by Zane Grey, The Maverick Queen is something of a wasted premise, with all the elements are in place for a twisty psychological Western. The story is a sound one, with the characters at first glance looking to have potential for gusto and intrigue, but it just doesn't come together as a whole, either through one dimensional male characters or through lazy writing, it ultimately ends up being a damp squib. A squib briefly sparked by Barbara Stanwyk (Kit) in one of her later career tough feminine roles, and a pretty as a picture Mary Murphy who also gets to show a bit of spunk. But the girls can't carry the picture alone...

Barry Sullivan was a safe and amiable actor, he however was far from being a leading man who was able to carry a picture up front, thus here as the leading protagonist he struggles badly as he tries to make the tepid Kenneth Gamet screenplay work. It's a surprisingly weak adaptation from the man who wrote The Flying Leathernecks and the hugely enjoyable Coroner Creek, while Kane himself has to take some of the blame for letting the film plod when it should be zippy. There's a nice kicker in the finale - something that saves the piece from rotting at the bottom of the "B" Western barrel, but sadly it's just not decent enough to warrant a second glance - rendering as fact that both Stanwyck and the audience deserved better. 4/10

When Barbara Stanwyck's era of Hollywood superstardom came to an abrupt end in the early fifties, she refused to quit and became the star of a number of feminist westerns which cast her as a tough yet sensuous aging woman in tight pants and a cowboy hat, oftentimes the leader of an outlaw gang. She'd make one minor classic of this variety, Forty Guns for Sam Fuller. The Maverick Queen has a bigger budget (and was shot in color) but lacks the energy and magnetism of that later film - both, however, co-star he with Barry Sullivan, a highly underrated leading man who enjoyed far greater success on TV (including a two year stint as Pat Garrett on The Tall Man) than in the movies. Babs struts around in tight pants and we're not supposed to notice that she could easily pass for her boyfriend's mother. And as the badguy, her former boyfriend the Sundance Kid, there's Scott Brady - who played The Dancing Kid in JOHNNY GUITAR, the very best of the odd westerns that cast visibly aging former big name female stars in cowgirl roles. (Joan Crawford, in that film's case). This is handsomely produced by strictly minor stuff. We're supposed to cry when Babs "gets it" in the end, but I can still recall kids in the Rialto theatre in Patchogue, Long Island laughing out loud at the end way back when.

Willful and attractive Kit Banion (Barbara Stanwick) is the Maverick Queen. She is a saloon owner and one of the chiefs of an outlaw gang nicknamed the Wild Bunch . As the story unfolds Kit proves she is tough and smart, and can ride and shoot as well as any man. But a Pinkerton agent , posing as Jeff Younger , nephew of the infamous outlaw Younger brothers , is sent to infiltrate the Wild Bunch and gather evidence against the band . There appears Jeff Younger (Barry Sullivan) who teams up with the gang led by Sundance Kid (Scott Brady) . But Kid is a very jealousy man and when he finds out his girlfriend Kit falls for Jeff he becomes into a nasty and vengeful gunslinger who seeks for vendetta against him . Then the gutsy saloon keeper gets in trouble while squabbling over two men . While the powerful Pinkerton is relentlessly dedicated to catching Butch Cassidy and the members of The Wild Bunch. Hear Joni James sing !. Photographed in the colorful state of Colorado in exquisite Trucolor by Consolidated Film Industries !.

Exciting classic Western with a love triangle , crosses , double-crosses , gun-play and rousing action . Weird and hysterical Western with peculiar touches , dreamlike emotionalism and magnificent dialogue in which is blended domination , jealous , humiliation and a deadly confrontation ; resulting to be a fascinating and melodramatic film . This Western has acquired something of cult following along the lines of the magical and mythic ¨Joan Crawford's Johnny Guitar¨ , perhaps because it comes from the same studios : Republic . It has another Hollywood legend , Barbara Stanwick who gives a stunningly dominating acting in a similar role and Scott Brady as Sundance Kid who bears remarkable resemblace to his character in the Crawford picture . This isn't as excellent as Johnny Guitar , but notable enough , altough it does have some impressive shootouts , and more action than the vintage film . Love and hate are woven into three protagonists : Barbara Stanwick , Barry Sullivan and Scott Brady ; the fabulous trio sharing a mythical confrontation . Exceptional performances by all casting as top-notch Barbara Stanwick as a feisty lady saloonkeeper , Barry Sullivan as the mysterious , stubborn drifter and Scott Brady as saddle-tramp bandit who turns a psychopathic temper caused by jealous while taking up his pistols . Sensational plethora of secondaries , such as : gorgeous Mary Murphy at an important role as Lucy Lee , Wallace Ford , Howard Petrie , Jim Davis, Emile Meyer , Walter Sande , George Keymas , Taylor Holmes and John Doucette.

It contains colorful and brilliant cinematography in Trucolor by director of photography Jack A. Marta . As well as sensitive and atmospheric musical score by the classic composer Victor Young . This vintage as well as traditional movie was produced by Herbert J Yates from Republic Pictures and professionally directed by Joseph , ¨Joe¨ , Kane , containing some vigorous scenes , though virtually the Republic studio's last major production before it lurched towards extinction. Kane was a good craftsman who made around 100 titles from the 30s . This motion picture The Maverick Queen (1956) was well directed , though with no much enthusiasm . Kane directed a great number of films and several episodes of notorious TV episodes . Kane started directing career started with co-directing serials for Mascot and Republic, and he soon became Republic's top western director . He handled many of John Wayne's Republic westerns of the 1940s , and piloted numerous Roy Rogers and Gene Autry films . Unlike most Republic house directors, Kane was credited as associate producer on many of his films. He stayed at Republic until the studio's demise in 1959, and after freelancing for mostly independent production companies, he turned to directing TV series as Bonanza . Kane usually worked with Vera Ralston, whom husband Herbert J. Yates, president of Republic Pictures and Kane's boss, attempted without success to make a star . He made a lot of westerns , such as : King of the Cowboys 1943 , Idaho 1942 , Ridin' Down the Canyon 1942, Heart of the Golden West 1942 , Sunset Serenade 1942, Sons of the Pioneers 1942 Romance on the Range 1942 , Sunset on the Desert 1942 , South of Santa Fe 1942 ,Man from Cheyenne 1941 , Red River Valley 1941 , Jesse James at Bay 1941, Bad Man of Deadwood 1941, Rags to Riches 1941 , Nevada City 1941 ,Sheriff of Tombstone 1941, In Old Cheyenne 1941, The Great Train Robbery 1941 , Robin Hood of the Pecos 1940 , The Border Legion 1940 , Young Bill Hickok 1940 Colorado 1940 ,The Ranger and the Lady 1940 ,The Carson City Kid 1940 ,Young Buffalo Bill 1939, Days of Jesse James 1939 , Saga of Death Valley 1939 , The Arizona Kid 1939 , In Old Monterey 1939 , Wall Street Cowboy 1939 , and many others . The flick will appeal to Western/adventure buffs ; it's an agreeable popcorn story plenty of breathtaking scenes , emotion , adventures , colorful exteriors and anything else . It's a wonderful enjoyable story for kids , teens and old people . Rating : Decent Western 6.5/10 .

The best, worth seeing, in this film is Barbara Stanwyck, she is by far the best actress in the entire cast. Everyone else, including Barry Sullivan, Scott Brady, Mary Murphy, etc., is good, but only functional around her. I try to imagine what it would have been like if Barbara Stanwyck had worked with Sergio Leone.