The Worst Film Ever

Thanks for the memories!

People are voting emotionally.

i must have seen a different film!!

"Gun Glory" director Roy Rowland's "The Outriders" is an American Civil War western set during the twilight days of the conflict with actors Joel McCrea, James Whitmore, and Barry Sullivan cast as three Confederates who escape from a Union prison camp and make their way west. Interestingly, Barry Sullivan is the weak link in this threesome because he is the villain. This represented the first time that I had several the typically heroic Sullivan as a heavy. Anyway, the three escape after Sullivan kills a Union guard and they find themselves eventually to the camp of Confederate renegade terrorist Keeley (Jeff Corey of "True Grit") and his minion Bye (Ted de Corsia of "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral"). Keeley wants our three protagonists to rob a wagon trail heading from Santa Fe to St. Louis. Everything appears to be going according to plan, except that Will Owen (Joel McCrea) is losing his allegiance to the cause. He meets and falls in love with Jen Gort (Arlene Dahl of "Land Raiders") and he changes his mind. Meantime, Jesse Wallace (Barry Sullivan) turns more treacherous than ever. Rowland stages several good genre scenes, but the one that stands out prominently is the scene when our heroes must cut wood to get the wagon trail across a rapidly flowing river that has risen far above its normal level. Although not as good as "South of St. Louis," "The Outsiders" is nevertheless a solid western well worth watching.

MGM Western movie with glimmer Technicolor cinematography , impressive landscapes and including romance of the daring pioneers of the West . This is a good Western , plenty of action , shootouts , thrills and fist-play . It's a thrilling western with breathtaking confrontation between the protagonist , his enemies and savage Indians Pawnies . Late in the American Civil War, from an Union prison called Camp Benton, our handsome hero, a Confederate Sergeant called Will Owen (Joel McCrea) is imprisoned at a hard Northern jail , he is a highly respected Southern official . But he escapes along with Jesse Wallace (Barry Sullivan) and Clint Priest (James Withmore) . Soon fall into the hands of pro-Confederate raiders, followers to leaders Bushwhackers as Quantrell and Anderson , such as as Keeley (Jeff Corey) and Bye (Ted De Corsia) , two roguish confederate rebels , both of whom have a war task for them who force them to act as "outriders" or escorts for a civilian wagon train that will be secretly transporting Union gold among the personal possessions in the caravan of Don Antonio Chaves (Ramon Novarro) from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to St. Louis, Missouri . They are eventually able to convince Don Antonio to be his escorts or outriders . The three men are to lead the wagons into a raider trap in Missouri, but one of them begins to have misfortunes and misgivings . As they guard the caravan from marauding Indians and other dangers along the way . Meantime , Will Owen falls in love a beautiful woman named Jen Gort (Arlene Dahl) , a recent war widow, who is accompanied by her teenaged brother-in-law Roy Gort (Claude Jarman Jr.) . This Western is a superior outing because it displays thrills , emotion , shoot'em up , brawls , intrigue , riding pursuits and many other things . There is filled with action in the movie , guaranteeing some shots or stunts every few minutes . Interesing and moving screenplay by Irving Ravetch based on his own story . Here filmmaker Roy Rowland delivers a nice film , however he could be counted on to deliver solid "B" pictures which, at MGM, were often better than most other studios' "A" pictures . Brief character studio about three escorts or outriders , Joel McCrea/Barry Sullivan/James Withmore they became friends despite their differing personalities , until the inevitable final conflict . The highlights of the movie are the spectacular as well as violent getaway from Benton Missouri Camp and the sensitive dance between Arlene Dahl and the sex-hungry soldiers . Very good support cast such as James Whitmore , Ramon Novarro , Jeff Corey , Alex Montoya , Ted De Corsia and a young Claude Jarman Jr of Rio Grande and The yearling . Colorful as well as evocative cinematography by Charles Edgar Schoenbaum supported by expert cameraman Henry Jaffa . Adequate and atmospheric production design by Cedric Gibbons , MGM's usual , though also contains abundant matte paintings . Rousing and breathtaking musical score by Andre Previn who married Mia Farrow The motion picture lavishly produced by Richard Goldstone and MGM studios was well directed by Roy Rowland . He sharpened his directing chops at MGM with a series of shorts starting in the 1930s, then moved up to features in 1943 . Roy spent quite a bit of time at the studio, from 1943-51 and again from 1954-58 ; he had the good fortune to marry the niece of Louis B. Mayer and was the father of actor Steve Rowland . While not one of the studio's top-rank directors , he was a good professional who had a considerable success . Most were B-movies, but he occasionally handled such A-graders . His greatest hit was , of course , the fantasy movie titled The 5000 fingers of Dr T (1953) . Rowland made an action picture for independent release based on a Mickey Spillane "Mike Hammer" novel starring Spillane himself (Girl hunters (1963)) . He specialized in a variety of genres, including musicals : ¡Viva Las Vegas! (1956) The seven hills of Rome (57) , Two weeks with love (50) and dramas : Our wines have tender grapes 45 with Edward G Robinson (1945). He was also responsible for the tough, fast-paced Rogue Cop (1954), one of the few MGM films that could be considered "film noir". Roy was a Western expert , as the last film he made at MGM was a "B" western with Stewart Granger, Gun Glory (1957); besides , he filmed Bugles in the afternoon with Ray Milland and Many rivers to cross with Robert Taylor ; after which and then he traveled to Europe for a string of Spanish/Italian-made westerns such as Los Pistoleros De Casa Grande and Ley Del Forastero . His final film as director was a somewhat cheesy pirate movie (he was uncredited ; his Italian co-director Sergio Bergonzelli got sole credit) called El Tigre De Los 7 Mares and its sequel : Tormenta Sobre el Pacífico (1966). He was associate producer on Nathan Juran's Italian-shot Al Infierno, gringo (1969), after which he retired.

Joel McCrea in an atypically wooden performance as a Confederate soldier who, along with two friends, escapes from a Union prison camp in the last year of the Civil War, wrangled by a Rebel troop into taking bushwhacking job robbing a Yankee wagon train of its gold bullion. There's a neat scene midway through where the men attempt to have a square dance without any women; and when lone female Arlene Dahl finally joins in, McCrea has a wonderful moment where he changes her shoes. Otherwise, Barry Sullivan is about the sorriest cowboy in '50s westerns, and a nearly-unrecognizable James Whitmore is wasted as a grizzled soldier. McCrea and Sullivan fight over Dahl, predictably, without ever asking her whom she prefers, while the other relationships in this caravan are practically non-existent. Good supporting cast, including an almost-grown up Claude Jarman, Jr., and nice Technicolor photography, but alas, this yarn is strictly rote. ** from ****

Turner Classic Movies rebroadcast "The Outriders" on May 21, 2005, with some improvements. TCM added closed captions and also seems to have transferred the film to a high definition master, so that the Technicolor looks very smooth. The lack of film grain has a down side during some scenes when print damage is apparent, such as the scratches on the film negative that show up in a few scenes, scratches that are more jarring due to how good most of the print looks. This Western stands head and shoulders over most Westerns released in the past 20 years. Just look at the supporting actors: James Whitmore, Barry Sullivan, Ramon Novarro and, of course, Jeff Corey as the very reasonable, psychopathic Southern raider Keeley. In 1950, MGM still had the production staff and budgets to make its movies look great. The matte effects by Arnold Gillespie at the start, showing old Santa Fe, are as well done as any today. During action scenes, MGM did not skimp on stunt extras. There is one scene near the start, as Joel McCrea and the three other riders with him are riding on top of a ridge, the sun setting behind them. Even if the director lifted the look of the scene from a similar scene in the black and white Winchester '73, this Technicolor scene, only a few seconds long, must have been tough to get right. That attention to quality is consistent throughout this movie. "The Outriders" is an example of what the old Hollywood studios did best: turning out technically well made, interesting movies by the dozens each year. In my minority view, newer popular Westerns such as "Silverado" and "The Unforgiven" don't hold a candle to "The Outriders."