Le Desperado de la plaine

This movie's totally awesome with excellence all around. There's no way this should be 6 out of ten. Watch it and see. Love it!

Not a bad western, among the best from RG Springsteen, whose films made for AC Lyles in the early sixties were purely childish and lame, nearly awful to watch. Here, this is a Allien Artists - former Monogram - production, some kind of a guarantee of quality, I mean not a lousy film. The directing skills are very limited, it is not a Budd Boetticher's film, nor a Joseph H Lewis' one, but let's not be too hard with RG Springsteen, who did his very - James - best here. So, please don't despise this honorable western, it deserves it. And keep in mind that RG Springsteen has made here one of his best westerns.

You must take this film with a wheelbarrow of salt. Two young men get in dutch with the Texas state police during the 1870's and are forced to go on the lam. One teams up with Cole Younger, and winds up being framed for a crime he didn't commit. A good western, but I never figured Cole Younger to look like a middle aged insurance agent or to be so mellow hearted. Hollywood really did a job on this old west badman. And that courtroom scene near the end! No way!

Frank Lovejoy plays the title role of Cole Younger in this western from Allied Artists and proves that even outlaws have a code when it comes to paying a debt.

When both James Best and Jan Merlin are running from the carpetbagger Texas State Police they come across Lovejoy. Best stops Merlin from turning in Lovejoy for the reward. After that Best and Lovejoy start riding the trail together.

In the end Lovejoy finally repays the debt.

Jan Merlin stands out in the supporting cast. In his younger days when he wasn't starring on TV in the Rough Riders he played various punk roles. He's a real low life here.

The Texas State Police have come down in history as one corrupt group. I've no doubt they were. But in Reconstruction Texas the main objection to them was that they included black people in their ranks.

Still this western is a good if not wholly accurate.

"Cole Younger, Gunfighter" is an okay western. There is not much else to say. There's nothing glaringly bad about it but there isn't much to praise either. There are a few nice moments here and there but mostly it's kind of dull. I think a little star power would have helped this one out quite a bit. On the plus side, "Cole Younger, Gunfighter" did help me get through a sleepless night. Honorable mention: a dreamy Abby Dalton.