The Younger Brothers

Enjoyable Warner Bros western directed by a "home" director for the studio, Edwin Marin who, like his fellow studio director Ray Enright, spent his entire career - at least mostly - in Warner and specialized in westerns and also film noirs, crime dramas - not Enright though, only westerns. But both also made dramas or comedies. Both had parallel paths in movie business and also had the same age. Warner westerns were all fast paced, the studio trademark, but most of the time suffering from predictable schemes, despite the always excellent directing and performances. Randolh Scott was often present in those gems. Here the topic focuses on those Younger brothers outlaws, and we can imagine what could have been done with a bigger budget. That remains an efficient B movie. Warner western typical stuff.

The title roles in The Younger Brothers are played by Wayne Morris, Bruce Bennett, Robert Hutton, and Jim Brown. All but Hutton have been released from prison for their many crimes back in the day with Jesse James and his brother Frank and without. They're on parole and are looking for a pardon from the state of Minnesota and then to return to Missouri where they're still regarded as heroes.

They've got a lot to look forward to, especially Bruce Bennett who has Geraldine Brooks waiting for him. Morris as Cole Younger and the leader of the brothers and he's got a girl waiting for him to. Janis Paige has plans for the brothers and they don't include raising crops.

She'd like to lure them, especially Morris into a life of crime again and Janis has the wherewithal to do the luring. In fact she's the best thing in The Younger Brothers.

The brothers have another problem though, a Javert like former Pinkerton man who walks with a limp, courtesy of a Younger bullet back in the day played by Fred Clark. He's out to put them back in stir or hang them even better and he's not too squeamish about what he has to do.

The Younger Brothers is a routine B western from Warner Brothers using that tried and true formula back in the day of taking real life figures from the old west and fashioning wholly fictional plots around them. The Younger Brothers is not the best or the worst of this kind to emerge from Hollywood back then.

An outlaw gang's hopes of a pardon are threatened when they're framed for crimes they didn't commit.

Promised their freedom if they keep out of trouble; paroled bank robbers Cole (Morris); Jim (Bruce Bennett) and Bob Younger (James Brown) join kid brother Johnny (Hutton) in Cedar Creek; Minnesota; unaware that their troubles have already begun. Set up by Daniel Ryckman (Fred Clark); an ex-Pinkerton cop who claims they cost him his job; Johnny is falsely accused of murder; while sultry bandit Kate Shepherd (Paige) robs a bank and makes Cole her fall guy.

The Younger Brothers travels a well worn trail in the "outlaw" western genre - and here the brothers are trying to keep on the straight and narrow, but this being a western with a modicum of chases and gunsmoke, for them that's going to be hard to achieve- especially with a vengeful ex-Pinkerton man and Janis Paige - a lady bandit - trying to scupper their chances to change. These two are the most interesting characters and what drives this rather routine yet efficiently made film. However, it's fuse doesn't always burns bright, it lacks a little punch, the colour tone is too dark, but it's entertaining with some good acting and a sufficiently constructed plot.

Interesting story idea... the brothers who had ridden with the james gang want to go straight. They have been paroled, and want to keep clean until the hearing. But things don't always go as planned. The townies interfere, and make sure that things get more complicated for them. Including kate (janis paige). She still wants revenge for things that happened in the past. Fun co-stars... alan hale was in every black and white film ever made. Monte blue, fred clark. Gun fights. Romance, bank robberies, waiting around. All leading up to the hearing. Directed by edwin marin. Died young at 52. Hale died young at 57. Both passed away just a couple years after making this film. The lead, wayne morris died young at 45, ten years later. Geraldine brooks died at 51. Fred clark died at 54. Tom tyler died at 50. Cursed cast.

The Younger brothers were overshadowed in life by the James brothers and this has continued to be reflected in movies.Pictures where they have taken centre screen have been of a lesser quality than movies where they have played second fiddle to the James boys. This is a pretty dire Western ,one which depicts the notorious outlaws as saintly ,put -upon figures striving to remain within the law but hounded by a former Pinkerton agent who blames them for his lost job and for his crippled leg.Also striving to ensnare them is a woman outlaw who wants them as part of her bank robbery gang Stolidly acted by a second string cast and directed with little or no passion this is at least brief and can boast a lively musical score. Otherwise it is so routine as to be forgettable almost as soon as it ends.