Handsome John Ireland comes out of the civil war with a chip on his shoulder and ends up out west where he finds it doesn't take him far in a corrupt town. Having vowed never to handle a gun ever again, he finds that only brings him more trouble, ending up in jail for shooting a member of a ruthless gang of thugs (lead by veteran tough guy Lawrence Tierney, working for the ruthless land owner Lon Chaney Jr. and his evil daughter, Myrna Dell) which controls everything that goes on in the town. Falling in love with newspaper woman Dorothy Malone, he finds out that the road to righteousness isn't always paved with peace and resistance. This B western has its share of action, but made on a nickel, it shows. Chaney seems to be channeling Walter Huston in "The Furies" in his all-white hair, but for once, he isn't chewing the scenery. This might have had more emotional impact regarding Ireland's character had it dramatized more as to why he decided to leave the South rather than simply rushing him out west after the end of the war, only vaguely commenting on his life there afterwards. It ain't bad, but there's hardly any thing memorable.
Review of The Bushwhackers
