Really Surprised!

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Okay, the plot needs a Rosetta Stone to unravel, while affections and alliances shift faster than wind-blown hay and are about that well-motivated. Top that with action that never leaves LA's San Fernando Valley, plus acting prowess that sort of comes and goes, and we're left with what amounts to a cinematic morass. And oh yes, shouldn't forget how everyone insists on marriage before playtime. Isn't that just what you'd expect from these hardened outlaw types, (thanks production code censors). Still, I've got to say, for what it's worth, that the narrative often avoids cliché. That is, people die that you don't expect, a girl has the lead even if it is non-girlish Ann Savage, while neither the Yankees, Confederates, nor Quantrills, are romanticized. Thus, despite the many muddy moments, there are points of interest scattered throughout. So, it seems to me that with a stylish director, an unburdened screenwriter, a bigger budget, and at least a 90-minute runtime, there's a pretty good epic western lurking somewhere in the Lippert shambles.(In passing—thanks johnboy1221, you confirmed my suspicions about the disappearing knife: what a tacky omission. Also, I may be seeing things, but those well-scrubbed close-ups of Savage at times resemble an unsmiling Marilyn Monroe, of all people. See what you think.)

Renegade Girl stars Ann Savage in this Lippert Production about a Belle Starr like outlaw who after some service with Quantrill's Raiders leads an outlaw band. The story is a rehashed version not of the real Belle Starr's story, but of the 20th Century Fox film that starred Gene Tierney and Randolph Scott. Elements of that plot are definitely present.For the tough leader of an outlaw band this woman has a lot of issues. She has a mission that tops all, to get Chief Thundercloud who is another renegade leader who has a grudge against her family the Shelbys. What the grudge is we're not told, but he's wiped out her whole family except for her.Ann's got Union Cavalry captain Alan Curtis and fellow outlaw Russell Wade panting after her, but her mission comes first.Renegade Girl is a poorly plotted and shoddily directed affair. Only the most confirmed B western addicts should be looking at this one.

Okay, I know my summary is harsh, but it is direct and to the point. Even for a cheap B-western, "Renegade Girl" is a bad film—filled with clichés and atrocious writing…really atrocious.The film is set during the waning years of the Civil War. Like so many westerns made during the era, this one involves Quantrill's Raiders—a group of terrorists who fought for the South and who were even hated in the South by many since they pretty much ignored the rules of war at that time. In particular, they attacked Northern towns and targeted civilians. Yet, oddly, this film portrays them as the good guys! Now that's a first.The main focus, however, is not Quantrill but a very anachronistic and overly butch lady. Sporting a 1940s perm and acting like the clichéd western macho dame, she is all fire and emotion. And, she seems to switch her mind from one minute to the next. For example, she helps Quantrill and her brother (one of Quantrill's men)—yet soon after meeting a handsome Yankee officer, she completely abandons her cause and suddenly sees her compatriots as the bad guys! What a flake! Then, after she is injured by a nasty Native, she is saved by this Yankee. Yet, when he leaves her to be cared for, when she awakens she announces that she now HATES him!!! What is with this lady—is she off her medication?!?! Most of the rest of the film is pretty bad as well—filled with bad writing and confusing plot elements. In fact, I absolutely hated the film—and I normally like B-westerns and cut them a lot of slack (although they were cheap, they were usually very entertaining….unlike this film). Not worth your time. But if you are crazy enough to want to see it, this is a public domain film from tiny Robert Lippert Productions. You can follow the links on IMDb and download your own legal copy. Although why you would is beyond me now that you've been warned.

This movie sounded amusing, so I tried to watch it (very) early this morning.The dialogue is wooden and stilted beyond description, and not just a line here and there, but whole scenes! The plot is no better. None of the characters are sympathetic; the heroine scowls from scene to scene, half the males in the movie seem infatuated with her for unknown reasons, but of course, the only one she shows interest in is the one who ignores her during her months-long convalescence--failing to visit as promised until a few minutes after she leaves the home where she has been nursed back to health.Had I been more wakeful, it might have been a jolly experience. As it was, I fell asleep, and when I woke up, a Montel infomercial was running. Alas, I missed the ending--but I did not much care.I don't think anything was cut out of it. I suspect this is just a movie that just didn't come out the way someone must have imagined it.