Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This greatest frontier drama since ¨Cimarron¨ deals with a marshal (Randolph Scott) carries out peace and order at a town outside the law and all the notorious badmen who fought to keep it there . An epic thrill parade down banditry's halls of infamy , violence-filled heart of the wild west and being a sequel to ¨Badman's territory¨ (1946) . Concerning the worst killers of the untamed West and the Lady they called 'Cheyenne' (Anne Jeffreys) on a rampage of murder and terror in the blood-red days of frontier Oklahoma . There Vance (Randolph Scott) is appointed Marshall who must fight against a gang of outlaws led by a sadistic Sundance Kid (Robert Ryan) .An epic saga of a land beyond the law starred by an all-Western-star cast , including cowboy actors , great personalities and many other things . An exciting and explosive exploitation for the great big action western of 1948 . The plot is plain and simple taking place when part of Oklahoma Territory becomes officially part of the U.S. , there a sheriff has to deal with such notorious outlaws as the James and Dalton boys in a territory outside of government control . Here appears a lot of of bandits ; see them all : the most wanted outlaws : Cole Younger , Jim Younger , Bob Dalton , Grat Dalton , Emmett Dalton , Billy The Kid , Arkansas Kid , Sundance .... This is a Frontier history written by Luci Ward in the violent deeds of the most famous outlaws of the 1880s and in the grit and guns of the couraged few who dared the crimson challenge . This ¨Return of the badmen¨ belongs to a trilogy formed by the original ¨Badman's territory¨ (1946) by Tim Whelan with Randolph Scott , Anne Richards , Steve Brodie and George ¨Gabby Hayes¨ and a third part titled ¨Best of the Badmen¨ (1951) by William Russell with Robert Ryan , Claire Trevor , Jack Buetel , Robert Preston , Bruce Cabot , Walter Brennan , all of them starred by notorious bandits of the wild west . Nice acting by Randolph Scott in his usual style as Vance Cordrell , a straight-shooting marshal is forced to deal with some of the most infamous outlaws of the Old West . And several known secondaries playing the known bandits , such as : Steve Brodie (Cole Younger) , Tom Keene (Jim Younger) , Robert Bray (John Younger) , Lex Barker (Emmett Dalton) , Walter Reed (Bob Dalton) , Robert Armstrong (Wild Bill Doolin) , among others . Tom Tyler would play Frank James in Badman's Territory (1946) and Best of the badmen (1951) as well as another film, here he plays fictional outlaw Wild Bill . And , of course , the comic relief for the veteran and usual George ¨Gabby¨ Hayes .The motion picture well produced by Nat Holt was professionally directed by Ray Enright . Ray was a craftsman who directed lots of Westerns . His Western film debut was ¨River's end¨ (40) , following ¨Bad men in Missouri¨ (41) about the Youngers , ¨The spoilers¨ (42) with a star-system , as Marlene Dietrich , John Wayne and Scott , ¨Men of Texas¨(42) , ¨Sin Town¨(42) , and various starred by Randolph Scott as ¨Trail Street¨(47) , ¨Coroner Creek¨(48) , ¨Alburquerque¨(48) , and starred by Alexis Smith : ¨South of St. Louis¨(49) and ¨Montana¨ (50) with Alexis and Errol Flynn . His last Westerns were ¨Kansas raiders¨(50) and Flaming Feather¨(52) , until his retirement in 1953 .

Everything about this movie cries foul. Every western stereotype is thrown in along with the kitchen sink and just about every western outlaw. There is not much that is original, from the love interests, to the protagonists rivalry, to the unfortunate comic relief provided by Gaby Hayes' facial contortions. On the other hand once you get past that and accept the fact that this is not cinematic history it's actually kind of fun. Randolph Scott is magnificent in his perfection of the righteous western hero. Robert Ryan is at his most extreme surliness - he is evil incarnate, an inveterate liar all too ready and willing to jump at any chance to advance his lot at the expense of friend and foe alike. Anne Jeffreys and Jacqueline White are at their most gorgeous. The scenes where they let their hair down and look to make themselves even more beautiful (as if that was possible) are worth the price of admission. And lets not forget such veterans as Robert Armstrong and Jason Robards Sr. Its always good to seem them in their later careers. I guess anyone who has read some of my other reviews will know I'm a sucker for bad movies.

Although not all are truths here I am not sure that Sundance or Billy ever came to Guthrie, OK But Bill Doolin is buried at the Guthrie, OK. cemetery. Summit View Cemetery and it is a summit view of the Cimarron River to the north. the territorial prison that is mentioned is still here but it was built in 1892 go to www.tourguthrie.com or www.facebook.com/tourguthrie for more on Guthrie OK.Which was created in one day. because of the 1889 Land Run Guthrie went from a population of zero to well over 12,000 that day. April 21, 1889 the time was set for 12noon for the canons to sound and at least 50,000 settlers were at the north starting point of what was Oklahoma Territory. In fact Oklahoma Territory was basically what is the center 7 counties of Oklahoma today. these were all surrounded by Indian Territories in 1889, and the center was not settled by anyone at all it was vacant. There was not even a railroad until 1887 when the railroad connected the state of Kansas to Texas at the south Canadian River just north of Purcell, OK. There is no town like Guthrie, OK. anywhere in the world the way it was settled... many movies were made about the Land Run... and Hollywood comes every year almost to make a movie because of its buildings and surroundings !

Return of the Badmen is directed by Ray Enright and co-written by Charles O'Neal, Jack Natteford and Luci Ward. It stars Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George Hayes and Jacqueline White. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by J. Roy Hunt.Braxton, Oklahoma Territory, 1889, soon to be a ghost town as the impending land rush changes the West. With that comes more than just settlers, it brings outlaws too, some of the meanest there is. Under the leadership of Wild Bill Doolin has gathered the Sundance Kid, the Younger Brothers, the Daltons, Wild Bill Yeager, Billy The Kid, George Mason, the Arkansas Kid and Doolin's niece Cheyenne. Standing in their way? Vance Cordell, retired Texas Ranger, soon to become temporary marshal of newly formed Guthrie Town, and a man with a score to settle with the Sundance Kid.Premise is simple, RKO, flush with the success of Badman's Territory the previous year, decide that more is best in this second instalment of the studio's "Badmen" trilogy (Best of the Badmen followed in 1951). They pitch some of the Wild West's baddest apples together and play them off against that bastion of stoic cowboyness, Randolph Scott. As a basic Western movie it works, film is always engaging, has a good action quota, is technically safe from the camera side of things and is driven by a pot boiling destiny showdown between Scott and Ryan. Trouble is is that so many notorious characters in one mix means the film has no chance of living up to its promise. Which in a running time of 90 minutes was always going to be impossible to achieve anyway, especially when you also have the inevitable romantic angle involving our hero, another character thread involving reform and the backdrop of the land rush as well.Thankfully the film finds Scott and Ryan more than capable of sealing the deal, lifting the picture above the routine plotting and unrealistic nature of the set-up. It's good versus evil, where Scott's Cordell is the man in light, the man of the people, and Ryan's Sundance is the man in dark, a twitchy cold blooded psycho. Yes, there's the inevitability factor of it all, we know who is going to triumph here, but the build up is well handled and it does provide a very brisk and punch laden finale. There's nothing irritable in cast performances across the board, yes we want more from the roll call of actors playing under written villains, but story, as fantastical as it is, never sags and entertains from first minute to last. There's worse ways for Western fans to spend an hour and half, that's for sure! 6.5/10