Kansas Raiders (1950)

A lot of fun.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

I would have liked to have given Kansas Raiders a slightly higher rating but for the corny script. At no time could I imagine Jesse James, as played by the legendary Audie Murphy, as having a conscience. As I understand it, James was a cold blooded individual, where here, Murphy keeps having twinges of sympathy and romantic notions. Hollywood at it's most watered down. On the up side, it's beautifully shot with some rousing and quite brutal raids on the North by Quantrill's ragbag of followers from the South, during the American Civil War. There's a nice performance by Brian Donlevy as Quantrill and on looking at the cast as the movie starts, was quite taken by seeing Tony Curtis listed as the fifth name, here playing Kit Dalton, one of Murphy's pals. Other character actors of some fame are featured include Richard Long and James Best, and two actors who went on to have some measure of fame as leading men, Scott Brady and Richard Egan. Marguerite Chapman is the leading lady, although I've never heard of her before, and average for the period. I can always watch Murphy, who always underplays with an air of authority, and I think a better actor than some gave him credit for.

Does anyone know where I can purchase this movie on DVD or VHS? My mother and I love classic movies and there are several titles, including Kansas Raiders, that she would like to have. Reasons she likes the movie are the setting (Civil War period), she likes Audie Murphy since she was growing up during WWII, when he was quite a hero, and she likes films about war and full of action. She would be grateful to hear from anyone who can help guide her in purchasing this film. I have looked everywhere on the web to find it and have been unable to and it has not been on TV or I would have taped it. If any collectors are reading this please reply through the message board at IMDb. Thank you.

AMC channel used to have a pretty good array of old movies. Apparently for what they regard as revenue purposes, ratings, etc., during daytime or prime-time hours, you're more apt to see the likes of "Jaws," "Conan...," or mediocre flicks (some from a "classic" year like 2004) - listed for the umpteenth time.For some reason, recently they seem to fill Saturday mornings with a lot of Audie Murphy oaters.Audie was a good-looking young man, and well-known as our most-decorated soldier from WW II. Regardless, Audie had the acting talents of, say, the average second- or third-lead in a 7th-grade parents' night play.I had never watched one of these Saturday flicks, but noticed this one when I turned-on the t.v. today, with Audie on-screen in Western attire, Tony Curtis with his Bronx accent, and identified, respectively as Jesse James and one of the Dalton boys.They escaped the clutches of some civilians about to lynch them, freed by a Union officer - soon to join Brian Donlevy, the notorious Quantrill, the "raider."I remembered something of Quantrill from a long ago school paper on the Civil War - but was curious to refresh my memory, and relate the facts to this film.This proved more entertaining than the film.At the time of the flick, Audie was 27 - in the story Jesse James would have been 16.Donlevy, in real life, was 49 - in the film, Quantrill would have been 24 or 25 (he DIED, after moving-on later, AT 27).The actress playing Quantrill's wife, Kate, was 33 at filming. In real life, at the time of the flick, she would have been 15 or 16 (Quantrill married her when she was 14 - she was a ripe old 17 when he died). There is no record of her having been at-odds with her husband's activity - or that she was romantic with Jesse (although as teens, they might have played a game of tag, or could have innocently played some "spin the bottle"). The film also contains two segments. among its most entertaining. When Donlevy "swears-in" Audie and Tony, plus their three young cohorts, to his band - it's not unlike Errol Flynn as "Robin Hood," explaining the mission to some recruits as he adds them to his group of "merry men." And later in the film, Donlevy's brief lecture to Audie about leadership and its demands is akin to George Scott's ("Patton") conversing about the same with Karl Malden (Omar Bradley) in the A-level Oscar film. Donlevy also points-out that Kate, as a "woman," cannot understand this. This is especially humorous, again realizing the real-life men would have been in their mid-20's and late teens, respectively, and Kate 15 or 16.You need some facts to view in contrast to the film to enjoy it even minimally -- although there is always at least a small measure of amusement in seeing these corny old Westerns which were often made during the 30's to 50's period.

Jesse James(Audie Murphy)joins Quantrill's raiders during the Civil War. Another Hollywood white-washing of James and historical fact. After all it is a movie. James and his brother Frank(Richard Long)along with a couple of Youngers, Cole(James Best)and James(Dewey Martin)join Qauntrill(Brian Donlevy)and his marauders in believe of saving the Confederacy by sacking Kansas. Lawrence Kansas is burned to the ground after the bank is robbed and citizens massacred. Jesse soon is sickened by the ruthless bloodshed and discovers that Quantrill has lost favor of Robert E. Lee and is nothing more than a demanding mercenary.The scenery is beautiful in spite of being filmed in Utah; and there is no way in hell that Utah landscape can be mistaken for Kansas. Other stars of note: Scott Brady, Tony Curtis, Marguerite Chapman and Richard Egan. Typical formula western that is really worth watching.