Product: Bad Lands [VHS]
Rating: 2.0
For hard core Western fans
Imagine a cowboy film without any stars, just character actors, put together for 90 minutes in a desert hunting an unseen enemy. That's Bad Lands, this 1936 western from RKO.Robert Barrat is the "star" and he appeared in more than 100 films and is best known as Chingachgook in "Last of the Mohigans" (1936). He had memorable roles in "Captain Blood" (1935), "Mary of Scotland" (1936), and "Northwest Passage" (1940). In 1945 he played General MacArthur in "They Were Expendable". "Bad Lands" was the only film in which he starred.Noah Beery Jr. is the co-star. He was the son of Noah Beery and the uncle of Wallace Beery. He's best known to us today as James Garner's father from the TV series "The Rockford Files", but Beery appeared in more than 100 films. He gave us memorable performances in "Viva Villa" (1934) with his uncle, "Sergeant York" with Gary Cooper, and "Red River" (1948) with John Wayne. I think his best performance was as Wiley Post in "The Story of Will Rogers" (1952).Andy Clyde plays Henry, a posse member. Clyde appeared in hundreds of films, starting in 1921. He was best known for his slow burn. He made a successful transition to talkies and then to TV where he was a regular on shows like" Lassie" "No Time for Sergeants" and "Dr. Kildare."Big Boy Williams plays Billy Sweet. Williams played in more than 100 films, specializing in cowboys. He often played the side kick to people like Johnny Mack Brown, Roy Rogers, and John Wayne. His large 6'2" 200+ pound physique earned him the nickname. He had memorable roles in "The Alamo" (1960) and "The Commancheros" (1961). He made a successful transition to TV in the 50s and was a regular on "Circus Boy" which also featured his co-star in this film, Noah Beery Jr.Francis Ford was John's older brother. He appeared in more than 300 films, and was in many of John Ford's film, often without a speaking part. Francis resembled his younger brother and his voice was also very similar. This film is probably the film in which you will hear Francis speaking more than in any other film.Addison Richards was a veteran of more than 300 films. He appeared in the "Andy Hardy" series, played a crazed frontiersman in "Northwest Passage" (1940), and made a successful transition to TV.Director Lew Landers made nearly 200 films, most of them forgettable. He moved to TV in the 50s and worked on shows like "Terry and the Pirates", "Kit Carson", "Topper", and Mr. and Mrs. North."As a film this one is pretty tedious. Western film fans will enjoy seeing their favorite sidekicks get so much camera time and so many lines, but the average viewer will not be impressed.