Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Absolutely Fantastic

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

In my opinion, watching one Anthony Dexter would be a delightful experience, but, in this movie, he played a dual role, so it was a real treat, and, I must say, he acquitted himself quite well! His performance was quite good, and he also did some dancing, a la his role in "Valentino". Two beautiful actresses supported him quite well, Gale Robbins and Jody Lawrence. Anthony Quinn in the cast has to be considered a definite asset, and you know Anthony Quinn will give a good performance! Ditto for Carl Benton Reid and Ron Randell! I found this movie quite interesting, as far as B-movies go, and much of it was due to the dual role played so well by Anthony Dexter!

The Brigand is an entertaining and engaging costume romp that is well filmed, and features an appealing and understated performance by that much underrated actor, Anthony Dexter, in the duo-lead roles. Able backing is provided by Anthony Quinn as the treacherous and slimy villain of the piece. So many movies of this type are throw-away and forgettable, but this one has sufficient pace, as well as a good storyline, to retain the viewers interest throughout. It's such a fine movie that it's difficult to understand why it's never been released commercially, and remains to this day very much of a rarity. It's also interesting to note that it was the follow-up feature to Valentino, for Anthony Dexter, and it's perfectly clear that only bad luck prevented him from going on to be a top Hollywood star. Far lesser actors managed to forge long, star-studded careers for themselves, so it will always remain something of a mystery as to why Mr Dexter never reached the heights. If the chance to view this movie ever comes your way, it's well worth seeing.

The senior Dumas' novel is turned into a knockoff of THE PRISONER OF ZENDA -- although as I have never read this Dumas novel, it may simply be returning the compliment.Director Karlson is not able to raise much of a performance from anyone except from Anthony Quinn, who plays his slimily villainous role with the appropriate cool aplomb. Still and all, besides the pleasures of Anthony-Quinn-watching, Karlson does manage to shoot the entire procedure with a goodly amount of visual beauty, with an MGM-style sumptuousness well displayed. Aside from these two point, however, this one is pretty much a washout.

The year 1951 Anthony Dexter made his film debut in "VALENTINO". The resemblance to the original silent screen idol was uncanny. I felt Columbia Pictures thought they would build him as a swashbuckler like his predecessor. So Mr.Dexters next film was an adventure story based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas. He plays a dual role - a badly wounded king(assassination attempt) and a desert adventurer who is persuaded to double for him.The plot had been used a number of times previous to 1952. Mr.Dexter handles his role(s)well including sword duels and several dance routines including the tango(Valentino reference).This film is well mounted in Technicolor and excellent direction by Phil Karlson.The supporting cast does fine - Anthony Quinn as the villain, the two female leads Jody Lawrence and Gale Robbins,and Carl Benton Reid handle their roles expertly.I have not seen this film since1964 and would like to view again on DVD!!!