Product: Angel and the Badman
Rating: 5.0
Remembering the Lovely Gail Russell
Wayne proved you could make an excellent western without a big budget in his company's first effort. While it has somehow garnered a reputation as second-tier Wayne over the years, mostly due to surviving prints of the film being just okay, this is actually a very entertaining film with a great cast and good story. Having seen it several times quite recently, it has that special quality of being watchable over and over.Much of the reason is the lovely Gail Russell. She was most certainly the prettiest girl in Hollywood and it's no wonder that Wayne fell in love with her. She was terribly shy in real life, and truly had to will herself to step in front of the camera. But the camera loved her and so did audiences. Angel and the Badman, The Unseen, and The Uninvited are probably her best moments on film. Her Penelope, the lovely young Quaker girl who prompts gunslinger Quirt Evans to give up his guns, is one of her best remembered roles.Quirt (Wayne) has been wounded by his nemesis on the outlaw trail, Laredo Stevens (Bruce Cabot), and his gang is hot on his trail when Penelope and her father (John Halloran) rescue him during the chase. Bystanders are stunned when the Quaker family takes Quirt into their home to mend, knowing his reputation with a gun can only bring disaster for them. But from the moment they begin calling him Brother, much to his chagrin, they only see the good in Quirt and it begins to wear him down.Or perhaps it's the big dark eyes of Penelope, and her ethereal beauty and faith in Quirt which causes him to gradually change. There is a bit too much talk at times, but it is balanced by a saloon brawl and some cattle rustling. It is the romance between Quirt and Penelope which is the heart and soul of things, however. Harry Carey gives a great supporting performance as Marshall Wistful McClintock, at first hanging around to see if Laredo will take out Quirt or Quirt will take out Laredo, then to see if Penelope can really change Quirt and make him lay down his gun.Anyone could guess the outcome but it is very entertaining getting there. Wayne and Russell made a nice couple and there is a charm to their romance missing in some of Wayne's bigger budget westerns of the era. A very enjoyable movie for a Saturday morning in bed and a nice way to remember Gail Russell.