When the Daltons Rode (1940)

Director: George Marshall

Writers: Harold Shumate, Emmett Dalton, Jack Jungmeyer

Composer: Frank Skinner

Starring: Randolph Scott, Kay Francis, Brian Donlevy, George Bancroft, Broderick Crawford, Stuart Erwin, Andy Devine, Frank Albertson, Mary Gordon

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Wanted dead or alive screamed the nation when the Daltons rode.

Plot: Fictionalized story of how the Dalton brothers were wronged by a crooked development company and became outlaws when the corrupt local courts offered them no justice.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Probably not.

I thought this was going to be some below average B-picture that I'd quickly forget but nope, it's actually quite good.  I've seen a few of Randolf Scott's Westerns but none where he's action-less.  He punches a guy early in the film and for a good reason but that's about it.  He never touches a gun and in the one fight he gets in (in the last few minutes of the picture), his ass is handed to him and he's knocked cold until the end.  That was a big surprise (Scorethefilm removes his hat and lowers his head out of respect for Mr. Scott).  But hokey smokes!  Look at that cast!  The first third of the film has very little action and it's all background so you know why the Daltons did what they did along with those left behind like Tod (Scott) and Julie (Francis) who fall in love despite her being engaged to one of the Daltons.  That first third or so is very deceiving because suddenly, thanks to the Dalton boys being on the lam, shit starts happening, folks get robbed and good guys start gettin' killed. 

There's a wild sequence where the boys leap off a rocky ledge and onto a fast-moving train.  One by one they jump and it's really happening in front of you.  I was actually worried something bad might happen but they pulled it off without edits.  It's done in such a way that all five are stuntmen but you can't tell because their faces are nicely obscured just enough but each of the five men execute their jumps in succession and in one take.  Minutes later they get off the still fast-moving train on horses!  As soon as the boys got the idea to leap from the train on horseback I was worried again but this time it was for the horses.  Four of them land on ground and the fifth into a river, well below the train.  It's horrifying to think if any of the horses were injured (or if the one leaping into the river far below even died).  Regardless, these stunt-fueled scenes made the picture much more exciting.  The acting is surprisingly very good.  Andy Devine can get a little annoying sometimes but he's got his moments of funny.  I find he's better being used sparingly but I do like him a lot.  I don't want to upset the Devine estate by implying otherwise.  They'll probably send the Comedic Relief Sidekick Mafia after my ass.  I'm sure there's very little truth to any of this picture involving the real Daltons but it's a fun film nevertheless.  Director George Marshall had a long and wonderful career in Hollywood and he made a lot of good picture. Very few of his pictures would be considered classics but he was certainly a solid director who stayed incredibly busy until his death.