The Sundowners

Plot-- Mysterious Kid Wichita arrives to help two brothers Tom and Jeff defend their ranch from cattle rustlers. Trouble is the Kid creates more problems than he solves. So why does straight arrow Tom put up with him.

Anyone doubting that Texas has a scenic part needs to see this Western. The Palo Dura Canyon in the Texas panhandle looks like a smaller version of the Grand Canyon of Arizona and makes an eye-catching backdrop. In fact, the movie skillfully weaves the action into the red rock slabs, especially the big shoot-out, bull whip and all.

There're a lot of cross currents to the plot, making the story sometimes difficult to follow, but the central characters—Preston and Sterling—remain clearly drawn. The script only fills in important information in dribs and drabs, which means we have to keep up with why some people are doing what they do as best we can. Thus some patience is needed, but I think it does pay off.

Preston is obviously enjoying his charming bad-guy role, playing it for all it's worth. His Kid Wichita may be one of the biggest, most booming, personalities in Western annals and probably the only singing villain. Wisely, his opposite number, Sterling, underplays his part as Tom, the reluctant good guy. This makes for a good dramatic contrast and helps build tension for the inevitable showdown. Apparently, Jack Elam helped get financing for the film (IMDB) and so got his first acting part. He sounds a little shaky, but then his cuckolded husband, Earl, is supposed to be. And, of course, there's Chill Wills lending his reliable "aw- shucks" brand of character color.

Anyway, there's a lot of entertainment in both the scenery and the characters, making this a generally under-rated little Western.

I thought this was quite enjoyable. It has some interesting character developments and some realistic depictions of what I am certain people were like in the old west. Outlaws who were usually outlaws, but sometimes good guys, and lawmen who you were sometimes not sure of. There is the big rancher who wants to rule everything and the small rancher trying to survive. There is more dialog in this then most folks are used to with a western, but that is what makes it unique. The bad guy is a rascally sort who likes to tease. You find yourself not liking his teasing all the while respecting his brashness. He is ill mannered and imposing such that you have no doubts he can be unscrupulous, but he has a way of not being revolting all the same. Some reviewers were a bit put off by the amount of talking but that is what let you get behind the mentality of the characters. I liked this movie enough to watch it again soon. There is some breathtaking scenery of Texas to be seen. Enjoy.

It's entirely possible that the VHS that I watched of this film was badly edited because the film seemed to begin in the middle.

The Cloud Brothers, Robert Sterling and John Drew Barrymore, have settled in some country where there's a nice range war in progress. They've got both big cattle baron John Litel and a group of smaller ranchers against them. All they want to do is be left alone, but neither group will allow that.

A third brother, Robert Preston, arrives on the scene. He's a noted outlaw named Kid Wichita and he really ratchets up the violence quotient. That also includes killing the sheriff who is Litel's son and Jack Elam who's married to Cathy Downs who he's taking a fancy to.

This is a nice cast and John Drew Barrymore certainly showed he had the potential to be an earlier version of James Dean. The heritage of that name proved too much for that man though.

One of the more ambitious undertakings from Eagle-Lion Studios. But The Sundowners was flawed in the execution.

The Robert Mitchum/Deborah Kerr Sundowners was far better.

Peaceful rancher Robert Sterling is on the losing side of a range war with his ruthless neighbors, that is until notorious outlaw Robert Preston shows up out of the blue to level the playing field. Soon he begins to go too far, feeding a growing sense of unease in Sterling, especially when his son begins to idolize the wily criminal.

The Sundowners is a tightly-paced, gritty, and surprisingly tough little picture with a great performance by Preston. Here, he comes across as an evil version of Shane, that is until the real nature of the rancher and the outlaw's relationship is revealed. Most movie guides and video boxes spoil the surprise!

Rounding out the cast is Chill Wills, Jack Elam, and the debut of John Drew Barrymore, who became more famous for his offspring than his acting.

Not to be confused with the 1960 film directed by Fred Zinnemann, this film produced by Alan Le May, best remembered for providing the raw material for John Ford's 'The Searchers' contains a similar family conflict but overall is a much more straightforward business.

Robert Preston is cast against type as a moustached villain while John Barrymore Jr as 'The Younger Brother' for once plays a nice kid.

The staging by director George Templeton is for the most part pretty perfunctory, but the climax against a backdrop of cliffs with one guy wielding a whip is pretty eye watering.

Chill Wills gets to sing a bit. But don't let that put you off.