My Outlaw Brother

This was a pleasant surprise for me. I bought a set of DVD's at K-mart and this was one of the movies on the twin disc set. The picture quality was acceptable considering the age. The acting was quite good. Mickey managed to offer a few laughs as the clumsy easterner trying to fit in with the wild west. Robert Stack was a very convincing bad guy and Robert Preston was the straight shooting Texas Ranger. It had a good plot and moved along quite well for a movie from the 1950's. But it is the type of movie I grew up with so it seems normal to me. Younger people used to the full throttle action of today's movies might find it a bit slow, but they seldom even consider a movie like this. In all it was great fun for me.

One oddity was when Robert Preston as ranger Walters was at the map of Texas, he indicated the town of San Clemente about 50 miles south of present day San Vincente, Mx. I was unable to find a San Clemente, Mexico on any maps so it was just a part of the story line not a real location. There is a San Clemente, California but that is much farther away than 50 miles. Don't let that ruin the movie for you, it was a good one and it had a bit of a surprise at the end.

Pop some corn, pour a soda, and sit back to enjoy an old fashioned western from the 50's before there were special effects, back when actors had to act to earn a living.

Rather lame western. Director Nugent fails to play up whatever suspense may lurk in what amounts to a meandering screenplay. On the whole, the story bounces around without building. Thus we're left with a turgid storyline spread across three or four main characters. Rooney arrives in Mexico accompanied by Preston in order to learn more about his brother Stack who's living below the border. Trouble is the area's beset by outlaws led by mysterious El Tigre, and soon the new arrivals are caught up in outlaw shenanigans. Fortunately, locals Hendrix and Torvay are on hand to help out.

At this point, Rooney was still a headline name but with a diminishing career. I expect that's one reason he shares so much screen time with Preston and Stack who are on their way up the ladder. Then too, the diminutive Hendrix is an apt leading lady since she and Rooney make a good visual pairing. Still, the former Andy Hardy appears unsure how to play his part in a western while Nugent appears no help. In fact, some of Rooney's behavior border on the distractingly comical. Also, that fine personality actor Robert Preston is wasted in a role a hundred lesser actors could have filled. Only Stack manages to register in a more strongly written role. Maybe the movie's best part are the settings which look authentically south of the border. And catch the blacksmith's infernally scary workshop. Too bad the rest of the movie doesn't measure up to those few impactful moments. Fortunately, Rooney would soon move on to more appropriate roles.

The cast brings this routine "Oater" up to watchable standards. Based on the novel by Brand "South of Rio Grande" this is the story of a youngster (Rooney) searching for his brother in the wild west. The plot is predictable and at times the director lets the action sag a bit, however, as with most of Rooney's 'transition' flicks this one is good, just to see how The Mick tries to get away from his Andy Hardy stereotype. Worth a watch.

Clumsey easterner Mickey Rooney travels to Mexico to make a surprise visit to older brother Robert Stack, only to discover he's a smooth-talking, black-hearted under boss to a bandit that's terrorizing the locals and robbing banks north of the border. Trouble arises when he inadvertently brings along Texas Ranger Robert Preston.

Despite the movie being a fairly straight-faced affair, Rooney plays like it's a comedy most of the time. Meanwhile, Stack is dead serious and seriously mean, prompting one of the characters to suggest that he's possessed by evil spirits! The combination of the two actor's performances make the film seem pretty odd.

On the whole though, this is an entertaining adventure, with some good suspense scenes, as well as nice, picturesque Mexican scenery and decent production values.

Also, there's a neat psychological twist in the final scene. Maybe Stack is possessed after all.

When this film debuted in 1951, Mickey Rooney was not nearly as popular an actor in Hollywood as he'd been a decade earlier. And, so many of his previous films were nothing like "My Outlaw Brother" but were more slices of an idealized American life--minor love stories involving his Andy Hardy character or superficial musicals. Here, however, he is inexplicably in an independent B-western--a HUGE change of pace from the usual fancy MGM pieces he appeared in at the time. Now this is not a bad thing--as it did offer a nice change of pace and a chance to see him in a more gritty sort of film.

The movie begins with an Easterner (Rooney) showing up out West...unprepared and totally out of place. Despite this, he manages to find a friend in a local Texas Ranger (Robert Preston) who looks out for him. However, the Ranger is surprised to learn that his new friend, though quite likable, might just be the brother of a local outlaw who is wanted on both sides of the border. So, when this greenhorn travels into Mexico to find his brother, the Ranger tags along. What's next? See the film.

For a B-western, this is better than normal. Some better than average acting, a decent script and nice production values make this quite satisfying and worth your time--even with the odd ending where Rooney's character seems amazingly ambivalent with the way things ended up by the conclusion.