Boothill Brigade

Boothill Brigade has Johnny Mack Brown as a rancher trying to help a neighbor at the behest of the neighbor's daughter Claire Rochelle who Brown has a thing for. She's worried because her father Frank LaRue has fired all his old hands and replaced them with gunmen. When one sees perennial western villain Dick Curtis as the new foreman at the LaRue place any B western fan knows that something is afoot.

Truth is that LaRue is in some deep debt to Ed Cassidy who holds notes on his property and is using it as a base from which his hired guns can threaten all the other ranchers. Cassidy's a greedy villain, he wants the whole area.

This one is a subpar western where possibly a lot may have been left on Republic's cutting room floor. You have to bridge a whole lot of gaps in Boothill Brigade for it to make some coherent sense. In fact motivation for a lot of the characters is missing from the film.

Not the best product of Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures nor of Johnny Mack Brown.

Lon discovers that his best girl's rancher father has bought up the whole valley and plans on evicting all the previous residents who believe they have squatter's rights to remain. Lon is desperate to keep the squatters from resorting to violence to sort things out.

Boot Hill brigade is a catchy and cool title, but the lack of gunplay and rigor Mortis setting in negates it's effect, however its got a good story, some intrigue regarding why a good guy rancher has turned into a varmint and why does he have a gun-toting new employee at his side. Johnny Mack Brown senses there's some thing afoot and investigates. A little gunplay at the end rounds things up.

Johnny Mack Brown was a decent B-western actor. His natural demeanor was a sharp contrast to the pretty-boy cowboys of the era and he generally played likable good guys. However, with this film, Brown is stuck with a dull script and very indifferent direction. The bottom line is that it should have been a lot better than it was.

When the film begins, Lon returns to his old town and agrees to work for a rancher. However, he doesn't know the score--this new boss is crooked and has some very crooked friends. Soon Lon quits and sides with the small-time ranchers who are afraid this bully-boy and his friends will toss them off their land.

So why isn't this film better? Well, first the idea of a big boss- man trying to take everyone's land is one of the oldest and most over- used plots in westerns. Second, the resolution of this crisis is so incredibly easily worked out that there is no real tension-- none. It's as if everyone is sleepwalking through the dull movie!

Johnny Mack Brown plays Lon Cardigan a moral preaching cowboy who uses his wits and fists rather than six-guns to battle a land-grabbing villain who is exploiting homesteaders through frontmen. The storyline is heavy on moral epithets rather than action. Unfortunately, unlike some other western films, the script does not deal with the underlying conflict throughout the West between ranchers and homesteaders. Meanwhile, the alleged villain's pretty, young daughter is part of the equation with the usual predictable twists.

This film is one in a collection called Cowboy Heroes of the Silver Screen from Marathon Music and Video. The source print was a 16mm dupe in fair condition with missing frames. The transfer is slightly soft but not irritating. There are some sporadic wash marks but surface noise is minimal. The sound is very good.

This is low-budget fare without much redeeming quality. And, even Johnny Mack Brown cannot save the story.

Other reviewers must have seen a different movie. Except for some mis-firing "comedy" by Horace Murphy, and except for the generic title, which does actually have a reference in the dialogue, "Boothill Brigade" is another good Johnny Mack Brown B Western.

Olmstead's stories usually hold up well, even after 80-plus years, and George Plympton's script adaptions are generally impressive.

This low-budget company usually produces enjoyable movies with good scripts and good production values, especially considering the budgets. And "Boothill Brigade" is no exception.

Despite the carping from other reviewers about the land-grabbing premise, this one is handled differently, and well.

Among the glories of these films are the number and variety of characters with speaking parts. These characters are mostly played by more-than-competent veterans who make their roles and the story come alive and seem plausible.

No, it's not perfect, but it's darn good and I highly recommend "Boothill Brigade," of which there is good enough print at YouTube.