Memorable, crazy movie

Best movie ever!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time turns legendary bandit Bill Doolin to crime in this by the numbers western. It seems that no matter how much he tries Doolin (played by the handsome Audie Murphy) can't escape from his past which sees him paroled and sent to Kansas for a job he never makes it to. On the way, his train is conveniently robbed by his old pals, the Dalton gang, and he is accused of being in on the robbery. Of course, the law is now after him, so what does an innocent man do? He joins the Dalton gang for a series of shoot-outs, confrontations by posses and betrayal by the woman he loves.Entertaining in its modest way, it comes alive briefly when the gang arrives in a small town only to find their way blocked out of it by the law, and their finding an ingenious way to escape. The film basically serves the purpose of telling us that screenwriters sympathized with those on the opposite side of the law, giving many excuses for their criminal activities, and turning the lawmakers into villains while vindicating the outlaws.

This B Western opens with protagonist Bill Doolin being released from prison on parole; he intends to go straight but things soon go wrong when the train he is travelling on is robbed by the Dalton Gang. While he never rode with them he knew them as friends so when one of them recognises and speaks to him the other passengers assume he is involved with the gang. He jumps off the train and gets away but rather than running he returns to town to answer questions. The sheriff doesn't want to hear any excuses though and tries to arrest Bill; he gets away once again and ends up hiding out with the Dalton Gang. This time he ends up riding with them although there first robbery goes disastrously wrong leaving many of the gang dead or wounded. It isn't ling before Bill, know known as 'The Cimarron Kid' is leading the gang as they rob banks and steal from trains across Oklahoma Territory. Eventually the law begins to catch up with them; but with one last job planned Bill reckons he can earn enough to buy a ranch in Argentina and live there with his sweetheart... of course things don't go according to plan.The plot for this western might not be that deep but there is plenty of solid action and a decent cast of characters. Audie Murphy puts in a decent performance playing against type as Doolin. Beverly Tyler is good enough as love interest Carrie Roberts but Yvette Duguay is the most memorable of the female cast; she plays Rose whose job it is to get information about targets for their robberies... it is great to see a female character doing more than occasionally act as a nurse or only get involved in the action when it is absolutely necessary; Rose is very much one of the gang. There is plenty of varied action including people jumping from a train onto horses; a burning hay wagon being pulled through a town and an impressive shoot out in a railway yard. The film was made in some stunning scenery although, as was often the case, it is Californian scenery not Oklahoman. This might not be an all time great but it is a pretty good western and fans of the genre should check it out if they get a chance.

The Cimarron Kid is a tightly-made, action-packed, very entertaining Western of the Oklahoma outlaws sub-genre. It is well directed by Bud Boetticher, generally well acted, pleasingly scored, and beautifully filmed in three-strip Technicolor. Costumes, gun leather, railroad equipment and sets are quite authentic looking for the late 19th century era. The the outdoor locations, though actually California, were well chosen to look suitably like Okieland. As an added bonus, there are lots of period railroad equipment, with a shootout in a rural roundhouse one of the rousing action scenes.There is not really much to find wrong is this little oat burner, except for Audie Murphy's awful acting. Let's face, a wooden cigar store Indian with a microphone implant could do little worse. But even that serious handicap is overcome by Boetticher's skillful direction and a creative script that concentrates on the interesting supporting cast of characters, especially Noah Berry, Jr.'s Bob Dalton, and the love relationship between Bitter Creek Dalton (James Best) and Cimarron Rose (Yvette Duguay). This device happily keeps the camera away from Murphy's frozen features for most of the screen time. Yvette Duguay, though only fourth-billed, actually steals the show as the outlaw gang's resourceful gun moll. Pretty, exotic, lively, and sexy, she is more interesting and appealing in every way than Audie's ho-hum love interest, second-billed Beverly Tyler. Good support is also contributed by veteran character actors Roy Roberts and Leif Erickson. Altogether a very satisfying little Western. Better than some of the bigger productions from the same early 1950's era and certainly superior to any of the pretentious plates of tripe passed off as Westerns today.

Parolee Audie Murphy violently resists a crooked district attorney's latest attempt to railroad him, based on his friendship to members of the notorious Dalton gang. Breaking parole, he ends up having to join the gang for real and becoming the new leader.Though not quite as good or well-written as director Budd Boetticher's later series of Randolph Scott pictures, The Cimarron Kid is still a fairly entertaining, muscular pulp-western, with Boetticher's usual flair for excellent photography.With his good looks, youthful appearance, and short stature (not to mention his hero status), I'm a little surprised at how many times Audie Murphy was given a chance to play an anti-hero (Night Passage, The Texican) or even a nasty villain (No Name On The Bullet). He's charming enough though, that the audience forgives the Cimarron Kid long before the law ever does.Noah Beery Jr. gives an amiable, though far-too-short performance as the fun-loving Bob Dalton, while a young James Best and Yvette Dugay are pretty good too as a fellow member of the gang and his beautiful, though savvy love interest.