Had I known just how bad When the Daltons Rode was going to be, I would have turned it off. I just kept thinking it was going to get better, so I kept watching it. After all, how many Randolph Scott westerns were awful? Not many; I've only turned off two of them.
This one followed the group of Dalton brothers (Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Stuart Erwin, Frank Albertson, and Andy Devine) who became outlaws in the Wild West. They start the movie off as just a regular family, getting into brawls and chasing after women - yet remaining devoted to their Irish mama. Then, when one man gets accidentally killed during a routine fistfight, they get arrested. Visiting lawyer Randolph Scott defends them but loses, and they declare they've had it with law and order. It's just as ridiculous and it sounds, and the rest of the movie is a montage of bank robberies and shoot-outs. Interspersed in the story is a love story that's incredibly difficult to root for. Before the Daltons got into a mess of trouble, Randolph Scott was actually in town to visit them since he remembered them from childhood. He meets Broderick's fiancé Kay Francis and falls for her. Badly done, Scottie! What did Brody ever do to you? Once he learned Kay was engaged, he shouldn't have pursued her any longer. I felt really bad for Brody, since he was nice and sweet and the only reason Kay left him was because Scottie was better looking.
Save yourself the seventy minutes and pick another Scottie western. He made almost seventy of them, so you have plenty to choose from. This one's production values, script, and directing are so subpar it's embarrassing. I'm usually not a Kay Francis fan, but I will give her this compliment: she had more energy in this movie than in any other of hers I'd seen. But can someone explain to me why Brian Donlevy, fresh from an Oscar nomination in 1939, was hardly in the movie? Third billing was hardly a consolation for such a small part.
This one followed the group of Dalton brothers (Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Stuart Erwin, Frank Albertson, and Andy Devine) who became outlaws in the Wild West. They start the movie off as just a regular family, getting into brawls and chasing after women - yet remaining devoted to their Irish mama. Then, when one man gets accidentally killed during a routine fistfight, they get arrested. Visiting lawyer Randolph Scott defends them but loses, and they declare they've had it with law and order. It's just as ridiculous and it sounds, and the rest of the movie is a montage of bank robberies and shoot-outs. Interspersed in the story is a love story that's incredibly difficult to root for. Before the Daltons got into a mess of trouble, Randolph Scott was actually in town to visit them since he remembered them from childhood. He meets Broderick's fiancé Kay Francis and falls for her. Badly done, Scottie! What did Brody ever do to you? Once he learned Kay was engaged, he shouldn't have pursued her any longer. I felt really bad for Brody, since he was nice and sweet and the only reason Kay left him was because Scottie was better looking.
Save yourself the seventy minutes and pick another Scottie western. He made almost seventy of them, so you have plenty to choose from. This one's production values, script, and directing are so subpar it's embarrassing. I'm usually not a Kay Francis fan, but I will give her this compliment: she had more energy in this movie than in any other of hers I'd seen. But can someone explain to me why Brian Donlevy, fresh from an Oscar nomination in 1939, was hardly in the movie? Third billing was hardly a consolation for such a small part.