Angel and the Badman
Starring: John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey, Bruce
Cabot, Irene Rich, Lee Dixon, Tom Powers, Marshall Reed.
Year: 1947
Plot: When notorious gunslinger Quirt Evans is wounded
during a shootout he finds himself in the care of a family that does not
believe in guns or violence. Soon he tries to lay down his past and wash it
away to follow the good side of the law until his past creeps back up on him.
Quirt Evans must choose the lifestyle of the criminal or search his demons and
take the quite way of life and rid himself of his pain and anger and live
without violent actions.
My Review and Thoughts:
Behold The Duke. The cowboy among all cowboys. This old
black and white western still graces those classic style of westerns of the
b-movie nature. Wayne would go on to star in over 142 roles in a long lustrous
career as the strong man, the brute man, the slick tall western icon of cinema
that no one has ever been able to meet. Wayne was a raw talent and he had that
deep charisma that few actors ever was able to bring to the cinema like he did.
His walk, his talk, his emotional actions, all displayed a one of a kind
attitude.
This was put out by Republic Pictures and also produced by
John Wayne himself. The movie starts out with gun fire from six shooters, a
horse chase and John Wayne riding his horse away from Laredo and his mob. Out
of range he falls next to a Quaker farm. The farmer and his daughter Penny
played by the beautiful stunning amazing eye stopper Gail Russell. Quirt Evans
(John Wayne) has been shot and he states he needs to get to a telegraph so
Penny and the farmer agree to take him.
First thing you notice is John Wayne’s piercing eyes and his
rugged handsome look and his all-powerful cowboy stance that all his movies
had. After sending his telegraph Quirt Evans is taken back to the farm and
nursed back to health, for three weeks Penny watched over him as he is out of
it, delirious and confused, she falls in love with him, taking care of him.
Evans past is that he is a rough cowboy, a boozer, gambler
and ladies’ man, a thief and a lawbreaker and now he ends up in the hands of
Penny and the nice folks of the Quaker religion. John Wayne is rugged young and
sexy sitting around without his shirt on staring at the beautiful Penny when he
wakes up. Soon Laredo and his men show up into town.
Mix in romantic antics between a blossoming relationship with
Penny and Evan’s. The chemistry is great. Soon the farm is full of romance.
Evan settles down with Penny and her family into the peaceful Quaker lifestyle
but his past still haunts him and it seems no matter the situation the past
comes back. There is a cute fun moment when John Wayne is holding a little baby
girl it’s a priceless moment, big John Wayne holding a small cute little frail
child.
Quirt Evans is tempted by old ways and soon Evans is back to
his bad man ways, gambling, stealing, and boozing. Everything you would expect
is in this western movie, horse chases, gun fights, bar room brawls and much
more. Soon Evans after going back to his dark side, he senses the beauty and
kindness of Penny calling back to him.
This is a low budget Western with action, drama, romance and
a basic story that’s very good and works in many ways, sadly the production,
editing and camera work along with the direction are all off at times but still
the film works in that classic b-movie western style. It has that noon matinee
half price setting. The double bill feature showcase of low budget quality that
just is fun popcorn entertainment.