The Badge of Marshal Brennan (1957)

Such a frustrating disappointment

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Just watched on Netflex streaming another Jim Davis western. In this one, he's Jeff Harlan who's on the run when he encounters Marshal Matt Brennan (Douglas Fowley) dying in the desert. He then takes his identity and ends up helping the nearest town doctor (Harry Lauter) as he tries to stop some infected cattle from leaving the premises as he tries to find the antidote for the people affected. But the Donaphins (Louis Jean Heydt and Lee Van Cleef as father and son, respectively) are intent to push their cattle across the river so of course a fight is inevitable...This was quite a big role for Davis as he's top-billed for the first time here and has the lion's share of scenes. And this was also the first time I've seen him have some romance in his old movies with Arleen Whelan as Murdock providing such an alluring presence. Also interesting seeing country music stars Carl Smith as the sheriff and Marty Robbins as Felipe. The fender guitar music by Ramey Idriss was also a cool accompaniment to the score and I also liked the unique directorial touches of Albert C. Gannaway like Van Cleef throwing that vial of blood on the camera lens or that shadow of Davis when he mentions about not running away from it. So on that note, I highly recommend The Badge of Marshal Brennan.

Jim Davis, later of DALLAS fame, is a gunslinger in this hokey back yard western who assumes the identity of a recently deceased federal marshall when he runs into a town being run by bad guys. He quickly straightens things out and proceeds to move on, but things keep happening to keep him in town. There actually is a plot: the only rancher of any consequence in the area has badly infected cattle, and will kill anyone who tries to interfere. The town doctor stands up to the rancher and Davis and the local sheriff back up the doctor. A young Lee Van Cleef is the ranch owner's sadistic son. The action is intermittent at best and poorly staged, the soundtrack would have better been left without music, and most of the cowboys are clean-shaven and neatly attired in that 1950s Roy Rogers style.

The Badge of Marshal Brennan is a "B" western starring Jim Davis who later gained fame as the Ewing patriarch in Dallas. Davis was an imposing gentleman with a rugged face and a deep commanding voice. He played villains in "A" westerns and heroes in "B" westerns. In The Badge of Marshal Brennan he plays "The Stranger", a man on the run, who comes across a dying marshal. After the marshal dies, he buries the body and takes the badge. At the next town, he is mistaken for the dead marshal. The town had sent for Marshal Brennan because of an epidemic, outlaws and panic. The Stranger sees it as a chance to hide from his pursuers. What he doesn't realize is that by taking on the badge of Marshal Brennan, he takes on the responsibilities of the dead marshal.It is an excellent movie, one I remember well, even after many years. Davis, as always, give a strong performance as a man who has to look inside himself and finds much more there than he thought. It has mystical overtones that are interesting but do not interfere with its tough "B" western quality. If it ever comes out on DVD, I would strongly recommend it to any western fan.

For a low-budget film, this one really captures the imagination. Jim Davis gives one of the most enigmatic performances of his career in a very off-beat Western that draws its main plot elements from a combination of Eastern mysticism and tried-and-true Western cliches. A truly eccentric and haunting score adds to the ethereal nature of the proceeding. On one level almost laughable, but on another, deeply profound.