A Rainha dos Renegados

A great movie. It has it all: wonderful acting, an excellent script, great cinematography, and impeccable continuity. But most of all, it has, in great abundance, Maureen O'Hara. This is her movie, and carries the movie well. She is in almost every scene and dominates the movie. She is absolutely beautiful. But her looks are not the whole story. Her acting is superb. She projects both vulnerability and strength. Her character, Kate, is assertive, intelligent, honest and courageous. Kate takes charge in the story. When she has to ride a horse, she rides; when she has to defend herself, she defends herself; and when she is interested in a man, she is forthright yet modest. She is trusting but you can't double cross her and when she is wronged, she lets you know. The other cast are excellent too, especially William Bishop as the bad guy, Averell. Also, the movie effectively dramatizes the economic and social conditions that triggered the range wars in the West in the mid-nineteenth century. If one likes Maureen O'Hara and westerns with strong stories, then this movie is worth watching.

Let me admit off the bat that I know nothing about Director Lee Sholem and, on the strength of THE REDHEAD FROM WYOMING, I doubt I will get to know more. For a less than famous director, he wastes a good cast: O'Hara gets the star treatment, the two Alexes - Scourby and Nicol - go invisible for long stretches, and poor William Bishop is checkmated by a much two-faced character, a would-be gubernatorial candidate involved in cattle rustling, but using as a front O'Hara and the saloon he gives her.

For a wild west plot, there is very little shooting, contradictory behavior, a whole load of supporting faces whom you cannot tell whether they support Scourby or Bishop, with drifter sheriff Nicol taking beatings from both sides but somehow capturing O'Hara's heart (lucky lad!)

The film seems much longer than its 81 minutes, which ain't a good sign. 6/10.

In a routine western about simmering conflict between settlers and landed cattlemen in Wyoming Territory, dazzling red-headed Maureen O'Hara gives "The Redhead from Wyoming" a feminist slant. Amidst a cast of rather colorless cowboys, O'Hara cuts a striking figure; her flaming hair captured by Winton C. Hoch's Technicolor camera, blazes over her striking costumes, designed by Edward Stevenson. O'Hara catches every eye with bare shoulders exposed by flamboyant garments in lavenders and yellows that are in sharp contrast to the earth tones favored by her male co-stars.

Unfortunately, the leading men are as lacking in color as their costumes. Tall blonde Alex Nicol as Sheriff Stan Blaine displays little emotion, except when his eyes cast an appreciative glance at O'Hara's barely concealed decolletage. William Bishop is passable as the duplicitous Jim Averell, who has history with O'Hara's character, the tough Kate Maxwell. Most of the cast is comprised of relative unknowns with the exceptions of Robert Strauss and Dennis Weaver in small roles.

The undistinguished screenplay, which deals with cattle rustling and a potential range war, is unworthy of O'Hara's talent and screen presence; the fiery Irish actress plays a smart business woman, who can ride and shoot with the boys, yet maintain her femininity. Kate Maxwell may be ruthless, but she is no tomboy, and her wardrobe bears no resemblance to those worn by Joan Crawford or Barbara Stanwyck in their western roles. Kate is impeccably coiffed, made-up, and garbed, even when wielding a shotgun or riding a stallion. Other than an early portrayal of a strong woman in the Old West, "The Redhead from Wyoming" fails to rise above a fairly entertaining, if unmemorable, oater with an unforgettable star.

The Redhead From Wyoming casts Maureen O'Hara as a saloon mistress and cattle queen in the new state of Wyoming. Then as now Wyoming is a sparsely populated place and we've got ourselves a typical range war western in this flick.

There's a lot stray cattle in Wyoming and a guy can stake a claim, round up some mavericks and start a herd. Only the guy who got there ahead of everybody else is Alexander Scourby owner of the local Ponderosa. He's got an unofficial no trespass sign on unbranded cattle on his range.

Into this mix comes O'Hara and William Bishop. O'Hara comes to run the local saloon owned by Bishop. He also sets her up in the cattle business as well. But he's got an agenda all his own and I will say he dreams big.

Maureen O'Hara as The Quiet Man was opening to rave reviews was busy working on this film and she called it a 'stinkeroo' in her memoirs. But it's a matter of perspective, next to The Quiet Man it really is. But it's not a bad action western.

Possibly also she saw that William Bishop had the best role in the film by far. As I said he dreams real big, he's got the small ranchers on his side and he's not got their interest at heart. Bishop is slick and crafty with a good line of gab.

Nominal hero in the piece is Alex Nicol as the outsider sheriff caught in the middle. Nicol never really registers though as a strong hero, the part called for someone like Jimmy Stewart.

A couple of television western regulars had supporting roles here. Dennis Weaver plays one of the small ranchers and Jack Kelly plays Bishop's top gun hand. He has a nasty fight with Alex Nicol in the climax.

It's not a 'stinkeroo' as Maureen put it, but unless you're a fan of her's don't go out of your way to see it.

This shaky A western stars Maureen O'Hara in a variety of fancy dresses. With a range war brewing, old flame William Bishop imports her and her wardrobe to serve as a beard for his operations when she isn't running her obligatory saloon. She's caught between Bishop and mild-mannered sheriff Alex Nicol.

Besides a very purple tuille number, Miss O'Hara wears a black lace dancing outfit for the final shootout, in which she handles a shotgun. I found it a striking and discordant image, typical of auteur Lee Sholem. A decent, if rote script, the usual cast that had been filling out B westerns for a quarter of a century, and some nice color photography by Winton Hoch complete the ensemble.