BallWubba
Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.
Bluebell Alcock
Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
Logan
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
happytrigger-64-390517
... thanks to a good story, a stunning cinematography (whooaahhoo Maureen's dresses in Technicolor), fast paced direction and editing (the fights are real tough like in movies directed by Anthony Mann, Ray Enright or Phil Karlson), and above all Maureen O'Hara surrounded by a good cast.Maureen O'Hara is so sexy and her interpretation is always subtle, she shines in every scene. And the great surprise is that she can be as tough as a man. The perfect woman in Technicolor.And the other success of that so entertaining western is the interpretation of William Bishop, one of my favorite actors in B movies (Thunderhoof, The Texas Rangers, The White Squaw, ... and that unknown noir crime Breakdown with terrific boxing sequences). Such an athletic silhouette and determined face. Each time I see a movie with William Bishop, I'm never disappointed.
PWNYCNY
A great movie. It has it all: wonderful acting, an excellent script, great cinematography, and impeccable continuity. But most of all, it has, in great abundance, Maureen O'Hara. This is her movie, and carries the movie well. She is in almost every scene and dominates the movie. She is absolutely beautiful. But her looks are not the whole story. Her acting is superb. She projects both vulnerability and strength. Her character, Kate, is assertive, intelligent, honest and courageous. Kate takes charge in the story. When she has to ride a horse, she rides; when she has to defend herself, she defends herself; and when she is interested in a man, she is forthright yet modest. She is trusting but you can't double cross her and when she is wronged, she lets you know. The other cast are excellent too, especially William Bishop as the bad guy, Averell. Also, the movie effectively dramatizes the economic and social conditions that triggered the range wars in the West in the mid-nineteenth century. If one likes Maureen O'Hara and westerns with strong stories, then this movie is worth watching.
tedg
Spoilers herein.I'm interested in the history of redheads in film. It is pretty remarkable, I think and one of the purest stereotypes - or collection of them - in all filmdom. That effectively means in all life.Ms O'Hara had just made the film that defined her - and reinforced a specific type of redhead - in 'The Quiet Man,' with John Wayne. You know, the feisty, fiery, sexy, stubborn, furrowed brow Irish lass, capable even of physical anger.Problem is that Maureen is a pretty unskilled actress. Other than the red hair and a torpedo bra, there isn't much there.Here we see an exploitation of all that, in technicolor so that we can see the hair. And yes, we have rough ridin, shooten, stubbornness, and sexiness (at least so far as the code allowed). There are a few scenic shots as well. Other than that, its as empty as Wayne's head.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.
rsoonsa
A voice-over opening, with Winston Hoch's outstanding camera-work of calf roping and branding on screen, is a promising beginning and describes the setting for this film in 1870s Wyoming Territory, aboil with open range cattle raising and rustling, stimulated by the Territory's Maverick Law which permitted settlers to brand calves as their own if they were not within the confines of deeded property. When the voice-over ends the scenario begins, and that is a pity as it is woeful, approaching unintentional pastiche of the genre, with a fast-moving series of scenes lacking development, motivation and narrative continuity helpful to a viewer. An obvious vehicle for the beautiful Maureen O'Hara, splendid in Technicolor with her flaming red hair and green eyes, the piece unfortunately places her acting shortcomings to the fore, although she does her own stunt work, as is her wont. Alex Nicol is miscast as a laconic sheriff and Alexander Scourby is a bit too elegant for his role as a principal landowner, but William Bishop makes something interesting of his part as the film's primary villain, although his dialogue is no more penetrating than that of any other cast member. The plot deploys O'Hara as Kate Maxwell, a dance hall diva who is set up as proprietress of a saloon by her former lover, Jim Averill (Bishop) so that he may utilize her place of business as a front for rustling cattle, whereupon Kate is rent by her dual attraction to Averill and to the sheriff, who is taking steps to oppose this criminal enterprise. Director Lee Sholem, a straight ahead sort, is not given to varying of moods within his pictures, and that is the case here, resulting in a cursory and literal reading of the puerile script. Edward Stevenson's costumes for O'Hara are striking and appropriate and master make-up artist Bud Westmore does not have his craftsmanship disturbed by her riding and shooting activity, which is of a piece with the others in the colorfully garbed cast, whose raiment is barely disturbed by violent goings-on; indeed, the players often appear to be about to launch into song and dance, turning this affair into a musical of sorts, which might have been an improvement. The film includes the debut of Jeanne Cooper and an early effort of Dennis Weaver, atypically portraying a hard case, and somehow Robert Strauss is included in this one, completely out of place. Despite crisp editing, REDHEAD seems to take a long while arriving at its predictable ending, and although the cast never seems the worse for wear from its exertions, the viewer certainly will be, during this motivationless attempt to cast light upon a significant segment of Western American history.
