Overrated and overhyped

Good movie but grossly overrated

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It's a Western and those are so enjoyable especially since the formula was well known but the stories always changed using of course the old reliable mix of saloons, drinking, whiskey, sheriffs, bad guys, good guys, love interest and scenery, Indians and music. This movie throws in a nice round-up of horses that I do believe I have never seen to this degree in any movie I have watched. It appears they went all out making this as real as it gets. Scott makes for a good actor in Westerns but here he doesn't grab the center spot but only adds to the movie plot. Glen ford makes an appearance along with some other known faces too. I always enjoy when they mention large sums of money in these old Westerns. Why? Thousands of dollar back then is a fortune and we tend to forget this while watching. It could buy a town, large spreads of land, cattle and all the help you needed to live a comfortable life for the rest of your life. Consider that you can make it honestly or do what many did because they could i.e. steal it! Imagine one good theft and you are set-up for life with the usual catch; Don't get caught and don't do it again something thieves ended up doing. Nice little ride-along here with a decent ending too. Watch this with a sandwich, beef jerky or some ribs with a tasty drink. Favorite candy on standby. Mount-up and let's ride into town! I'm buying

Randolph Scott is the star of this diverting Western, playing the sheriff of a small town. His old friend Cheyenne Rogers, alias Bill Smith (Glenn Ford), is an outlaw who's newly arrived in town. Cheyenne was hired to rob a bank...that has already been robbed! Cheyennes' reputation dictates that he will fall under suspicion, despite his best efforts to go straight.There's much to enjoy here, in this, Columbia Pictures' first Technicolor Western. The color photography is lovely, and helps the movie to feel more modern than many other Westerns of the era. Robert Carson wrote the screenplay, based on an original story by Max Brand, and it's quite easy to follow and involving every step of the way. The script has its fair share of quotable lines, a number of them spoken by scene stealer Edgar Buchanan, playing "Uncle" Willie McLeod, a mildly villainous but still likable character. There's a romantic triangle between Sheriff Steve, Cheyenne, and local gal Allison (pretty Evelyn Keyes), the daughter of Willie. Best of all, director Charles Vidor maintains a wonderful balancing act of drama and some genuinely funny comedy, including a show stopping barroom brawl (one of the classic tropes of this genre). The cast features some delightfully colorful characters, brought to life by a very fine cast.Mr. Scott is engaging as the easygoing lead, a man who will do right by his old friend, even it means not adhering to the strict letter of the law. However, "The Desperadoes" often functions more as a vehicle for the excellent Ford, as the plot tends to revolve a little more around Cheyenne. In addition to Buchanan, another performer who regularly dominates his scenes is lively Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams as an outlaw nicknamed 'Nitro' for his preferred tool of his trade. Bernard Nedell is appropriately odious as a lowlife named Jack Lester, Raymond Walburn is hilarious as a doddering old judge, Porter Hall is good as dubious banker Stanley Clanton, and a glamorous Claire Trevor makes the most of her role as The Countess, with whom Cheyenne associated as a child.First rate action - such as a climactic stampede - helps to make this solid entertainment for 87 minutes.Seven out of 10.

This movie's best assets are the shots of Randolph Scott sitting, almost motionlessly, astride a galloping horse. He was simply poetry in motion, along with Joel McCrea, Gary Cooper, and young Johnny Crawford. These four were the best horseback riders in filmed entertainment. You can stop reading right...HERE!Since I have to include a minimum of 10 lines, let me continue by saying the worst horseback riders, IMHO, were John Wayne (ouch!) and Chuck Connors.Coop's best scenes, I think, were in The Westerner and Northwest Mounted Police (both 1940). McCrea's were in Cattle Drive (1951), Wichita (1955), and Cattle Empire (1958). Scott's were in The Desperadoes (1943), Ft. Worth (1951), and one other I cannot recall. Strangely, none of his Boetticher pictures.Connors was at his worst anytime his scenes in The Rifleman called for him to ride hell-for-leather for the ranch. Duke's were just about anytime he had to ride (oh, it hurts to say that - I just love John Wayne). There, I'm over the 10-line minimum.

Randolph Scott and Glenn Ford were once outlaw pals together, but now Scott's a sheriff and young Ford is still hiring his gun out. He gets hired to pull a bank job, but is delayed getting to town and those that hired him get someone else. That leads to all kinds of complications, a lot for a film that's not even 90 minutes long.Randy and Glenn both got girls here. Claire Trevor plays her usual good time gal with a heart of gold. And Evelyn Keyes is the daughter of Edgar Buchanan who falls for Ford big time without realizing who he is or why he came to the town that Scott is the sheriff in.It's B western, but unusual for the time and for Columbia Pictures it was given the full technicolor treatment. The Desperadoes marked Glenn Ford's first film in technicolor, a process reserved only for some of the more expensive films from bigger studios. Harry Cohn was certainly not one to shell out for it. And definitely not during war time.The plot gets a bit convoluted as both Ford and Scott are put to the test of friendship versus expediency/duty. The plot also involves some high class hypocritical skunks in Randy's town who are the real outlaws as far as the film is concerned.The four leads do a fine job and the best supporting performance is Guinn Williams as Ford's lovable explosive lunkhead of a sidekick. The climax involves a cattle stampede and a shootout in the town saloon and is one of the best ever done in a western film.Fans of the four leads and westerns in general will enjoy this one.