Return of the Bad Men

This greatest frontier drama since ¨Cimarron¨ deals with a marshal (Randolph Scott) carries out peace and order at a town outside the law and all the notorious badmen who fought to keep it there . An epic thrill parade down banditry's halls of infamy , violence-filled heart of the wild west and being a sequel to ¨Badman's territory¨ (1946) . Concerning the worst killers of the untamed West and the Lady they called 'Cheyenne' (Anne Jeffreys) on a rampage of murder and terror in the blood-red days of frontier Oklahoma . There Vance (Randolph Scott) is appointed Marshall who must fight against a gang of outlaws led by a sadistic Sundance Kid (Robert Ryan) .

An epic saga of a land beyond the law starred by an all-Western-star cast , including cowboy actors , great personalities and many other things . An exciting and explosive exploitation for the great big action western of 1948 . The plot is plain and simple taking place when part of Oklahoma Territory becomes officially part of the U.S. , there a sheriff has to deal with such notorious outlaws as the James and Dalton boys in a territory outside of government control . Here appears a lot of of bandits ; see them all : the most wanted outlaws : Cole Younger , Jim Younger , Bob Dalton , Grat Dalton , Emmett Dalton , Billy The Kid , Arkansas Kid , Sundance .... This is a Frontier history written by Luci Ward in the violent deeds of the most famous outlaws of the 1880s and in the grit and guns of the couraged few who dared the crimson challenge . This ¨Return of the badmen¨ belongs to a trilogy formed by the original ¨Badman's territory¨ (1946) by Tim Whelan with Randolph Scott , Anne Richards , Steve Brodie and George ¨Gabby Hayes¨ and a third part titled ¨Best of the Badmen¨ (1951) by William Russell with Robert Ryan , Claire Trevor , Jack Buetel , Robert Preston , Bruce Cabot , Walter Brennan , all of them starred by notorious bandits of the wild west . Nice acting by Randolph Scott in his usual style as Vance Cordrell , a straight-shooting marshal is forced to deal with some of the most infamous outlaws of the Old West . And several known secondaries playing the known bandits , such as : Steve Brodie (Cole Younger) , Tom Keene (Jim Younger) , Robert Bray (John Younger) , Lex Barker (Emmett Dalton) , Walter Reed (Bob Dalton) , Robert Armstrong (Wild Bill Doolin) , among others . Tom Tyler would play Frank James in Badman's Territory (1946) and Best of the badmen (1951) as well as another film, here he plays fictional outlaw Wild Bill . And , of course , the comic relief for the veteran and usual George ¨Gabby¨ Hayes .

The motion picture well produced by Nat Holt was professionally directed by Ray Enright . Ray was a craftsman who directed lots of Westerns . His Western film debut was ¨River's end¨ (40) , following ¨Bad men in Missouri¨ (41) about the Youngers , ¨The spoilers¨ (42) with a star-system , as Marlene Dietrich , John Wayne and Scott , ¨Men of Texas¨(42) , ¨Sin Town¨(42) , and various starred by Randolph Scott as ¨Trail Street¨(47) , ¨Coroner Creek¨(48) , ¨Alburquerque¨(48) , and starred by Alexis Smith : ¨South of St. Louis¨(49) and ¨Montana¨ (50) with Alexis and Errol Flynn . His last Westerns were ¨Kansas raiders¨(50) and Flaming Feather¨(52) , until his retirement in 1953 .

In good historical fiction as in good sci-fi what is revealed must be possible, even if not likely. Though a superior B shoot-'em-up, "Return of the Badmen" plays havoc with the history of the Old West, not only in location but also in time period. Billy the Kid was never in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). It is highly unlikely that the Sundance Kid was ever in Indian Territory. The Bill Doolin Gang with the Arkansas Kid are depicted fairly accurately as far as place is concerned. Doolin called his band of cutthroats "The Wild Bunch" so maybe the writers confused Doolin's gang with Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. It is also true that the Dalton Gang rode with the Doolin Gang in Indian Territory (Bill Doolin began his outlaw career with the Dalton Gang). The Younger Brothers with Frank and Jesse James hid out in Indian Territory but did not venture as far west as Guthrie. Cole Younger allegedly had a child (Pearl Starr) with Belle Starr in the area of today's eastern Oklahoma around Eufaula.

The time line is also out of sync. Billy the Kid was killed in 1881, Jesse in 1882. When Frank turned state's evidence, the Youngers left alive went to prison. The Coffeyville, Kansas, blunder was in 1892. The 1890's was the time of the Doolin Gang's peak activity, joined by remnants of the Dalton Gang. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were active at the turn of the century. As the later classic western, "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" shows, Cassidy's version of the Wild Bunch was the last notorious outlaw band of the Old West.

The Oklahoma Land Rush that led to the founding of Guthrie, Oklahoma, took place in 1889, several years after Billy the Kid's death. The part of the film showing Guthrie growing overnight to 10,000 inhabitants is historically accurate. The lawman who takes Cheyenne (Anne Jeffreys) into custody to deliver her to the federal court in Fort Smith, Arkansas, had a long journey before him. It is today an almost three-hour drive by car from Guthrie, Oklahoma, to Fort Smith, Arkansas.

I have read that because horror film producers were successfully grouping monsters together in one film, producers of westerns thought audiences would turn out to see oaters that grouped badmen together in one flick. If "Return of the Badmen" overdid it a bit, the concoction does make for an entertaining picture. At the crux of the story is the conflict between Marshal Vance Cordell (Randolph Scott) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Ryan). These two skilled actors make the whole hodgepodge work. The Sundance Kid is portrayed as a hothead who is more interested in killing the Marshal than in robbing banks. Ryan's concept of the Sundance Kid is quite different from Robert Redford's later incarnation of the badman. Redford's Kid is jovial, fun-loving, yet deadly when provoked. Ryan's Kid is dead serious, at heart a cold-blooded killer. As to be expected at the center of the rivalry is a woman, Cheyenne, a reformed outlaw, niece to Bill Doolin. To complicate the situation, the Marshal is already betrothed to the banker's daughter, Madge Allen (Jacqueline White), not the sweet, innocent young thing one might expect, but certainly with higher morals than the resourceful Cheyenne.

George "Gabby" Hayes, still a bewhiskered windbag, expands his sidekick characterization to include being a respected banker. This time around, rather than being the brunt of many a joke, Gabby is a good-hearted leading citizen standing up for law and order. He becomes a help to the Marshal, not a hindrance.

Director Ray Enright keeps the film moving with plenty of action, including a final shootout involving a burning cart of hay. "Return of the Badmen" is exciting and should please fans of B westerns of the 1940's.

Randolph Scott had scored a pretty good success dealing with a whole bunch of name outlaws in Badman's Territory a few years back. Small wonder that RKO decided to repeat the same formula. Though Return of the Badmen is by no means a sequel to the original film.

Return of the Badmen finds Randolph Scott as a retired Texas Ranger looking to settle in the newly opened Oklahoma Territory. But formerly the territory known as the Indian nations was patrolled by the army with visits from occasional federal peace officers like Rooster Cogburn if John Wayne fans will remember True Grit.

A summit of outlawry has been called by Bill Doolin as played by Robert Armstrong. He brings in the Daltons, the Youngers, Billy the Kid, and the meanest of them all, the Sundance Kid as played by Robert Ryan. This is not the same guy who partnered with Paul Newman. He's a mean cuss and he's the guy that Randolph Scott eventually squares off with for reasons you'll have to see the film for.

Repeating the same formula that RKO used for Scott in Abilene Town, he's got two girls pursuing him. One is Jacqueline White who is banker Gabby Hayes's daughter who is the widow of a peace officer herself with a small son in Gary Gray. The other is a Calamity Jane type outlaw named Cheyenne played by Anne Jeffreys who is Armstrong's niece. Again you'll have to see Return of the Bad Men to figure out who Scott gets.

In true cowboy hero fashion, old peace officer Randolph Scott answers the call of the citizenry for law and order. Though Return of the Bad Men doesn't cover any new ground, it's a good western for Randolph Scott.

Or as Mel Brooks would have it, RANDOLPH SCOTT.

Two things really distinguish this otherwise typical Scott/Hayes western - Unbelievable cinematography - I cannot believe how lovingly and lushly this film was photographed - amazing evidence of how much impact cinematography alone can have on an otherwise average motion picture.

The other thing is a gleefully ruthless performance by a young Robert Ryan playing The Sundance Kid as one mean, ornery sonuvabee. To say that he put a different spin on the character than Robert Redford did is putting it mildly. Robert Ryan is one of my favorite actors and there is clear evidence here that he had the goods from the very beginning. Just don't turn your back on him.

This film is available as part of the Warner Archive collection and a solid addition to any Western film library.

The reviewer "krorie" from Van Buren, Arkansas, goes to great length to point out how historically Return of the Badmen were, listing the dates the different real life outlaws, depicted in the film, were living and when they died. While your research is to be commended, you missed the whole point of the movie. It was made for entertainment not enlightenment. Most of the westerns made by Hollywood took liberties with the facts and were presented in a fashion that audiences could accept. The Return of the Badmen, like its predecessor "Badmen Territory" used the combined villainy of real life western outlaws to add appeal to the western. While both films were made in the late Forties, and television had not yet made an effect on the movie going public, the genre was slowly being burned out. Everything possible had been tried in order to boost box office appeal. Actually, the B western was already suffering from postwar production costs, and ticket prices in those years right before television. Many families, particularly those with small children, did not have the money for a babysitter and so spent the evenings at home listening to radio. The movie westerns did their best box office at the Saturday afternoon matinées when parents dropped off their children at the theater so they could go shopping. While Randolph Scott made many westerns, these two westerns, particularly Return of the Badmen, must have made an impression on producer Mel Brooks because he uses Randolph Scott's name as an in-joke in his 1974 comedy Blazing Saddles. The townspeople are reluctant to help their new sheriff, who happens to be black, combat the outlaw hoards which is coming to their town. One person speaks up in defense of the sheriff by saying "You would help Randolph Scott" whereupon the people reverently repeat Scott's name as they take off their hats and are bathed in a heavenly light which shines from above.