The Desperadoes (1943)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

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

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It's a Western and those are so enjoyable especially since the formula was well known but the stories always changed using of course the old reliable mix of saloons, drinking, whiskey, sheriffs, bad guys, good guys, love interest and scenery, Indians and music. This movie throws in a nice round-up of horses that I do believe I have never seen to this degree in any movie I have watched. It appears they went all out making this as real as it gets. Scott makes for a good actor in Westerns but here he doesn't grab the center spot but only adds to the movie plot. Glen ford makes an appearance along with some other known faces too. I always enjoy when they mention large sums of money in these old Westerns. Why? Thousands of dollar back then is a fortune and we tend to forget this while watching. It could buy a town, large spreads of land, cattle and all the help you needed to live a comfortable life for the rest of your life. Consider that you can make it honestly or do what many did because they could i.e. steal it! Imagine one good theft and you are set-up for life with the usual catch; Don't get caught and don't do it again something thieves ended up doing. Nice little ride-along here with a decent ending too. Watch this with a sandwich, beef jerky or some ribs with a tasty drink. Favorite candy on standby. Mount-up and let's ride into town! I'm buying

I guess that even in the 1940s, Westerns were just slapped together, sometimes not making much sense. For example, the film begins with a bank being robbed, and when the safe is blown open, all the men at the saloon -- directly across the street -- run out so they can get shot by the bank robbers. Yeah, that makes sense. There's a barroom brawl that's full of laughs, yet important to the plot; the comedy is out of place in this drama. "Nitro" (the sidekick) robs a bank...which makes no sense. The escape scene from the jail is more comedy...which makes no sense. And so it goes with this and many other Westerns. Not a lot of care taken.That's not to say this is a "bad" Western, but it could have been much better. Especially when you consider the cast -- Randolph Scott (the sheriff), Claire Trevor (saloon owner), Glenn Ford (the "good" outlaw), Evelyn Keyes (stable owner...supporting actress in "Gone With The Wind"), Edgar Buchanan (crooked but likable), and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams (the doofus sidekick); in other words almost all the Western stereotypes you can imagine. Although billed third, Glenn Ford probably gets the most out of his performance.The picture excels when it comes to its Technicolor -- the first Technicolor film done at Columbia Pictures. And, much of the outdoor scenery was filmed on location near Kanab, Utah, not that far from Zion National Park, and it shows! Probably the best aspect of the film.Bottom line: It's not good enough to be an "A" picture (other than the Technicolor), but it's better than the average "B" picture. If you like Westerns, it's worth watching...once. If Westerns are not your bag, stay away. Barely a "7".

Just about everything is right with this western. Everything looks authentic and feels right as one might expect from a Max Brand story. The lines are good too and every major character has several. This is very much a cooperative effort. All four major characters are leads and they work well together. There's plenty of action, some of it comedic as in the very last shootout scene. The story goes right along, all of it interesting and with plenty of tangents. All in all a very smart movie, perhaps not Oscar material but nonetheless very worthy of its genre. I should add that I like all four leads so that was a treat too. They all played to their strengths, masterful Scott, innocent Keyes, troubled Ford and complicated Trevor, but were far from stereotypical. They were full and multifaceted personalities, thanks to Max Brand. Shouldn't miss it.

When the bank is robbed in town the result is murder. However behind closed doors the whole robbery was organised by the bank manager and several other important townsfolk – the murder happening because their first choice man for the job didn't show up. When the man does turn up it is too late, but it turns out Cheyenne is also a friend of the sheriff, Steve. When Cheyenne meets Alison, he turns over a new leaf and decides to go straight, however not only does his past start to catch him up, but the real robbers decide to frame Cheyenne for the crime. The whole thing puts stress on the friendship between Steve and Cheyenne.With the veteran Randolph Scott in the lead role I decided this western was worth a try. The plot starts out quite serious – a top level plot to swindle money out of the bank's customers but the plot is a little complicated by a series of rather convoluted plot devices (the most unlikely of which being the man who was meant to do the job, turning up late, being a friend of the sheriff and then changing his ways). This unlikely events sort of mess the film around a little bit but not too badly. After a while the film develops a sense of mocking humour that almost makes it a spoof of sorts – this is best seen in the bar fight where poker players continue regardless of one of their players being knocked out and the barman desperate to keep his business in good condition just long enough to sell it! These little comic touches are quite unexpected and pretty welcome as it really helps lighten up the film and make it more enjoyable.The cast are OK but are also helped by the humour of the film. For leading man, Scott has almost a supporting role to play and does very little. Glenn Ford's Cheyenne has more screen time and is really the leading character. He does well with it and is quite charismatic in the role. Support is not great but is pretty enjoyable – especially those characters whose roles are more about laughs than anything else. Added to the comedy are a couple of good fight scenes, a stampede and a final shoot out. Not all of these work that well but they help keep the light-hearted tone of the film.Overall, not a great western but quite fun to watch. It may not all work but the tone of gentle, almost self-mocking humour really helps it to be enjoyable.