Branded (1950)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Good movie but grossly overrated

As Good As It Gets

The acting in this movie is really good.

My father and I went to the drive-in movies every weekend during the first half of the 1950s, and I can vividly recall seeing a number of Alan Ladd movies sitting in our '50 Ford and munching on cracker jacks while Dad smoked unfiltered Pall Malls.Dad thought Alan Ladd was the best, and I always assumed that he based his opinion mostly on Ladd's indelible turn in "Shane." But, I can't help but think that "Branded" played no small part in forming his opinion.What a gem of a movie! I may have seen it as a youngster and, if so, I waited more than 60 years to see it again. It was worth the wait! First, the characters, the script, and the storyline are believable. The players think like we do, talk like we do, and act like we do. That usually is enough to attract some interest in a film. But this movie offers much more.The cinematography is breathtaking. This little film yields nothing to "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" or "Rio Grande." The scenery, the color, the lighting, are all superior.The horsemanship is spectacular. How often can you say that about an "oater." The riders in this film gallop along narrow ridge-lines and down steep grades. And there is nothing to cushion their fall except red rock. And take a look at the camera angles, as the riders are tearing down the trail.And the music! Again, how often do you get to praise the score in a Western? The score is taut, and adds much to the drama and the excitement.The cast is excellent. And it gives the viewer the chance to see Alan Ladd just before he filmed "Shane." Sure, there were about four movies between "Branded" and "Shane," but "Shane" sat on the shelf for two years before it was released in 1953, so it was actually filmed right after "Branded." You could almost say that Ladd auditioned his Shane character in this film.This small picture probably had a small budget and a limited release. But it is an "A" picture in every respect. Any retrospective on Ladd or classic Westerns should include this little gem.

The opening scenes set the tone of the film… Ladd, an itinerant gunman known simply as Choya and with the aid of a tattooed birthmark, passes himself off as the lost son and is accepted wholeheartedly by the parents (Bickford and Royle) and Ruth (Freeman), the man's sister… Ruth had responded to his arrival on the ranch as any pretty woman would respond to a mysterious, handsome stranger, but she rapidly sets right to the fact that he is a relative… As soon as he is welcomed as Richard Jr, however, something happens to Choya… As a member of a loving family, Choya experiences feelings denied him by his own childhood and became increasingly sickened by his contribution in the tricking…Leading a cattle drive to El Paso, Choya decides to give up his charade revealing his true identity to Ruth, who turns on him with consternation and antagonism… There remains only one way to redeem himself and make up for the distressing emotion he has caused the Lavery family: To find their real son… All the elements in "Branded" are taken directly from the straight-shooting school of Western movies… Choya, despite his confession to Ruth that he is a "four-flushin' thief," is true-blue outlaw hero… The smart Leffingwell has him classified correctly: "You won't hit an older man. You ain't the kind that'll draw first, or shoot a man in the back." Even with the rules thus outlined, Ladd still has a chance to present his standard beguiling bad guy early in the film, merely holding back a victorious smile as he pretends confusion over the elder Lavery's excited reaction to his birthmark… Besides its other values, "Branded" is a visual delight… In fact, the movie's one drawback as a Western entertainment is a lack of big action highlights

It is almost pity that Alan Ladd made such a lasting impact in "Shane." Certainly "Shane" is his best, but so closely is he identified with the role that many of his other worthy efforts have been undeservedly overlooked."Branded" is a case in point. As a western it may not pique everyone's interest, but as a morality play (as most good westerns are), it is an interesting study in personal identity, lost and found.Ladd plays one of his patented icy gunmen, this time a small-time bandit named "Choya" who "lives by his wits" but is reaching the age where he "figures his luck's running out." He becomes involved in a scheme to bilk a wealthy cattle rancher by posing as the long lost son who was kidnapped by bandits some 25 years earlier. All goes well until he arrives at the Lavery ranch only to meet a loving, trusting family which welcomes him with open arms. It is the kind of love and warmth he has never known and, for the first time in his life, begins to question his motives. Resolving that he cannot go through with the sham, he sets out to find the real son and return him to the family.The film is a good showcase for Ladd, one of the '40s and early 50s decades' most bankable stars. He appears in almost every scene and dominates it without deliberately bringing attention to himself. But equal credit must go to the supporting players who attack their roles with vigor and enthusiasm. Charles Bickford (who never, it seems, gave a bad performance) dignifies the proceedings with his presence as Lavery, the firm but fair cattle baron. Robert Keith is scornful as Leffingwell, a weasel of a man who knows his limitations but who also knows how to survive through cunning and maleficence. Joseph Calleia excels as Rubriz, the notorious Mexican bandit and the true son's adoptive father, whose character is not entirely reprehensible and whose own plight is worthy of our sympathy. And Mona Freeman is fine as the rancher's naïve but pretty daughter. She looks just angelic enough to lend credibility to Choya's reformation. In terms of plot and presentation, "Branded" recalls the excellent silent films of William S. Hart whose westerns strove for authenticity and were the first to explore serious adult themes (unlike the formulaic Saturday matinée fare). All the ingredients are there: from the good-badman's colorful nickname to the young woman whose wide-eyed innocence leads him to question his unprincipled ways to the conflict between protagonist and adversary that eventually morphs into mutual respect. The action, primarily provided by a lengthy chase, is plentiful while the gunplay is minimal, serving only to advance the plot.Directed by one-time cinematographer Rudolph Mate, "Branded" is a beautiful film its colorful, sweeping Arizona landscapes and wide open spaces. Mate made a number of pictures in the '50s, most of them genre-types such as "DOA" (film noir), "The Prince who was a Thief" (adventure), and "When Worlds Collide" (fantasy). Though few became bona-fide classics, all are highly entertaining and a joy to watch. "Branded" is one of his best.

The imposter topic is very rare in a western:we often find it in a classic detective film like "no man of her own"(1950) and its French mediocre remake "I married a shadow" (1982).Except for the short prologue ,first half looks like a psychological suspense.Second part is more eventful,although not at the expense of Alan Ladd character's frames of mind.The hero actually is in need of a family;we know it from the start,Alan Ladd's wistful face tells it all.Love interest-which might be some kind of faux incest-is not as convincing as the hero's searching for haven ;it's a pity that the mother's character is not more present because she is,more than Mona Freeman's one,the keystone of the story.Also a work of redemption ,because Ladd will try to redeem himself ,and a plea for peace and understanding,proof positive that a western does not need a violent showdown to be successful.The Rio Grande becomes a beautiful symbol,as human as political,and the scene when the Father takes in the two men on its banks has a biblical grandeur.Rudolph Mate shows here that a B western can sometimes be deeper than so-called" A grade" classic ones.