Randolph Scott and Glenn Ford are very young in this decent old Western
In 1863 Utah, a wanted gunman (Ford) meets a winsome woman that makes him want to go straight and settle down (Evelyn Keyes), but a murderous bank robber’s false accusations get him into trouble with the law. Scott plays the sheriff of the town, Claire Trevor a hotel madam and Edgar Buchanan a duplicitous widower. Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams is also on hand as a dubious expert with Nitroglycerin.
"The Desperadoes" (1943) is worthwhile just to see Scott and, especially, Ford when they were younger. There’s also some spectacular Utah scenery in Technicolor and both Evelyn Keyes and Claire Trevor are pleasing to the eyes. Evelyn looks especially good in semi-tight brown leather pants.
The tone is mostly serious with a few amusing bits, some of which work (the guys concentrating on poker during the saloon brawl) and some that don’t (Buchanan’s two-faced character is too revolting to be amusing). There’s also some lame writing, like Cheyenne Rogers forgetting to inform the guy he robs a horse from that there’s money in the saddlebags of his injured horse for him to replace it.
Moreover, there are some glaring anachronisms: A train is shown in the opening with Utah Southern Railroad on the tender, yet the story takes place in 1863 and the USR wasn’t in service until 1871. Also, just prior to the horse stampede thru town someone says, "...they'll think they're riding into Custer's Last Stand," which didn’t take place until 1876.
Assistant director Budd Boetticher met Randolph on the set and they would go on to team-up later for some very good Westerns, e.g. “The Tall T” (1957), “Decision at Sundown” (1957) and “Ride Lonesome” (1959).
The movie runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot at Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, SoCal, with wilderness scenes shot in Utah at Johnson Canyon, Kanab Canyon, the Gap, and Paria.
GRADE: B-
