The Return of Jack Slade

Yes folks, I prefered the film starring Mark Stevens, from the same director Harold Schuster, made a couple of years earlier; it was far more interesting, darker, than this one. It remains a honest western, very predictable, bland and, I repeat, just bearable to waste time. I have seen it a long time ago and forgot it just after watching. The main interest remains Neville Brand, Mari Blanchard and an early Angie Dickinson's role, several years before RIO BRAVO. John Ericson is quite good though. So, please don't avoid this western at all costs only because I preferd the first JACK SLADE; after all, it's just a matter of opinion. The only thing is that I will never forget the first movie with Mark Stevens, whilst I will forge this one just after a couple of days.

I like all the films staring Ericson. He has always been an under rated actor. No one would know he was born in Germany. The film is a good, not great, Western. Why it was not done in color is beyond me. I wished it would have been a bit more true historically but thats the way of the westerns of the fifties! The film does have some witty moments. Another asset is Neville Brand. He was one of the all time heavies and shows his stuff in this flick. Worth the time to watch! The outdoor scenes are also good. Was also a good start for Angie Dickinson who does not have a great part but still shines. The interaction of Slade and "Com padre" is also good but could have been longer. I also like the fact that the weapons are accurate for the period. Most flicks of this era didn't pay much attention to the details. Although an older film parental discretion should be used because of the violence.

In this loose sequel to JACK SLADE (1953), John Ericson is the son of a fabled killer of bad guys out west. He's as fast and accurate with a gun as his father. Howard Petrie recruits him to root out the Hole In The Wall Gang. Ericson goes undercover and discovers they're a non-sexist bunch, including Mari Blanchard, Donna Drew, and Angie Dickinson in her movie debut. Ericson and Miss Blanchard fall into each other's arms quickly, yearning for a normal life, but psychopathic Max Showalter keeps psychopathing.

He's good at it, adding some psychological depth to this Allied Artist western, as does the loneliness of Ericson. The gang is a bunch of really mean guys, which gets tiring, except for Showalter, but the action sequences, including the last shootout, are pretty good.

Director Harold Schuster would head only a couple of more movies, then retreat to TV work. He had started out as an editor, and was good at that. He shifted over to directing in the late 1930s, but had never reached the top ranks, and so slid down the rankings, still turning out good pictures, but less in demand. He died in 1986, aged 83.

The movie has more pluses than minuses. John Ericson is, there's no other word for it, sexy. Plus, he can really handle a gun! It's not his all time best performance (I still think that's in RHAPSODY) but it's solid.

He's a plus, and I really liked his friend in the film, Johnny, played by Jon Sheppod. I was sorry he didn't have a bigger part in the film. There are some nice love scenes between Ericson and Mari Blanchard.

I think Angie Dickinson even in a small role has more star power and beauty than Blanchard, and I would have liked to see her in Blanchard's part, chasing Ericson. But she's fun to watch anyway.

OK, you have to forgive the fact that the women are dressed in tight pants, wear ponytails and a lot of make-up--they look like women of the fifties, not the post-Civil War era.

And I was disappointed the film was not in color, especially since most of it is shot outdoors. But all in all, a good Western with scrumptious eye candy.

The son of a quick-shooting lawman, Jack Slade (John Ericson) abandons law school to follow in his late father's footsteps. At the behest of Pinkerton agent Joseph Ryan (Howard Petrie), Slade infiltrates the hideout of the notorious Wild Bunch, led by the vicious Harry Sutton (Neville Brand). As he gathers information about the gang, his mission is threatened by his friendship with alcoholic cowboy Johnny (Jon Shepodd) and his growing attraction to female outlaw Texas Rose (Mari Blanchard.

The Return of Jack Slade is an ok western with some excitement like the train robberies, the final shootout, and a few interesting characters like Neville Brand and Mari Blanchard. Jon Ericsson in the title role looks suitably rebellious as the son of Jack Slade and has a permanent teen pout, but I found him bland, dull, and he looked like he was trying to remember his lines. He lacked that charisma as a lead, I felt. To be honest, I found this western on the dull side, especially in the talking bits, and the plot dragged. Having said that, the stark black and white photography adds to the gritty depiction of the outlaws and its hide out. Some lively action is scattered here and there. But nothing too special.