I have a natural prejudice against films that glorify relatively insignificant criminals from the old west. The likes of Jesse James, Billy the Kid and the Dalton Gang were raised to hero status in the 1930s and 40s--mostly because their lives were almost completely fictionalized by Hollywood. Much of this prejudice is because I am a retired history teacher and I hate to see the truth twisted way beyond the breaking point.
I was actually pretty surprised just how historically inaccurate this movie was considering it was supposedly based on a book by Emmett Dalton--the one surviving member of this notorious band of outlaws. That's because after serving about 15 years in prison, Emmett was pardoned because he'd found God and had become a model prisoner. And, his book "When the Daltons Rode" was NOT a homage to the gang but a book intended to de-glorify the criminal life. Surely this film was only VERY broadly based on the book--especially since in the film, Emmett appears to be killed at the end of the movie!! Even if you totally disregard the truth, "When the Daltons Rode" is a pretty bad film--mostly because the writing is pretty bad. For example, although Randolph Scott gets top billing, the audience has no idea why he's in the film. He's not one of the outlaws nor does he really play any sort of significant role in the movie. He and Kay Francis are there...but really add nothing to the picture and their romance is pretty difficult to believe. Also tough to believe is the finale. Although 4092390238409 shots are fired by the townspeople at the Daltons, very, very few manage to hit them! Can anyone be THAT bad with a gun?! And, when one of the Daltons somehow manages to survive long enough to make a 1 in a million shot at the evil lawman, you can't help but laugh! During this same finale, it's also hilariously bad when Andy Divine is killed--you just have to see it to believe it. Plus, who would have thought of having the likes of Divine and Stu Erwin as tough as nails criminals?!?! Sure, Broderick Crawfords and Brian Donlevy were fine--they had already been in many films as heavies--but Divine and Erwin?! Sheesh! The bottom line is that despite some nice polish from Universal Pictures, this is a bad, historically inaccurate and trite film. Plus, it manages to take a very good cast and completely waste it.
I was actually pretty surprised just how historically inaccurate this movie was considering it was supposedly based on a book by Emmett Dalton--the one surviving member of this notorious band of outlaws. That's because after serving about 15 years in prison, Emmett was pardoned because he'd found God and had become a model prisoner. And, his book "When the Daltons Rode" was NOT a homage to the gang but a book intended to de-glorify the criminal life. Surely this film was only VERY broadly based on the book--especially since in the film, Emmett appears to be killed at the end of the movie!! Even if you totally disregard the truth, "When the Daltons Rode" is a pretty bad film--mostly because the writing is pretty bad. For example, although Randolph Scott gets top billing, the audience has no idea why he's in the film. He's not one of the outlaws nor does he really play any sort of significant role in the movie. He and Kay Francis are there...but really add nothing to the picture and their romance is pretty difficult to believe. Also tough to believe is the finale. Although 4092390238409 shots are fired by the townspeople at the Daltons, very, very few manage to hit them! Can anyone be THAT bad with a gun?! And, when one of the Daltons somehow manages to survive long enough to make a 1 in a million shot at the evil lawman, you can't help but laugh! During this same finale, it's also hilariously bad when Andy Divine is killed--you just have to see it to believe it. Plus, who would have thought of having the likes of Divine and Stu Erwin as tough as nails criminals?!?! Sure, Broderick Crawfords and Brian Donlevy were fine--they had already been in many films as heavies--but Divine and Erwin?! Sheesh! The bottom line is that despite some nice polish from Universal Pictures, this is a bad, historically inaccurate and trite film. Plus, it manages to take a very good cast and completely waste it.