Following the Civil War the James brothers are constrained to take up banditry in order to survive. Nonetheless, old grudges from the war follow them and their gang, making a bad situation worse.
Entertaining Technicolor western, but nothing memorable. There's plenty of action though the locations never leave greater LA. The big pluses are Ward Bond at his most compelling and Ann Revere at her most motherly. On the downside, James's arch-nemesis Ward Bond is so persuasive that Carey and Corey as the James brothers pale in comparison. Frankly, neither of those two actors projects the kind of charisma or even screen presence to engage tension with their enemy, Bond. To me, this undercuts suspense between the two sides.
Then too, the massed gunplay appears poorly staged with volley after volley that appears to cause little or no damage to anyone or anything, especially with Jesse's unbloodied white shirt after being shot in the back. Thus, that crucial scene fails to persuade at even an elementary level. And please, why did Hollywood insist that every western leading lady had to look like she just stepped out of a beauty salon. Note here how spotless Drew and Chartrand appear no matter grimy the conditions or how unkempt the men. Anyway, it's a good chance to catch a big chunk of ace supporting players that fill out a big cast. Old movie fans may have a challenge picking out ones like Bruce Bennett or Bill Williams under all the whiskers and grime.
All in all, it's a western that never drags, nor spares on hiring extras, and is unfailingly good to look at. But unfortunately, the 80-minute entirety fails to rise above the mainly routine.
