Presumably Universal were hoping for their own Jesse James after the 1939 success of that movie, for this shares many of the same elements: based on the story of outlaw brothers who are pushed into crime by evil developers, a worried mother. Universal splashed the cash, provided a decent cast (including Randolph Scott, Kay Francis, Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy and Andy Devine) and budget, as well as one of their leading directors, George Marshall.
The action scenes are well staged, particularly a train robbery and the final shoot out, and it moves at a fair clip.
It doesn't entirely work. There's a dramatic flaw at the centre of the movie: it lacks lead characters for us to hook into. I guess Randolph Scott is meant to be the star but he doesn't do much: he's a fictitious character, a childhood friend of the boys who is working as a lawyer and tries to help them but doesn't (they go to crime in the movie). There's a plot where he falls for Broderick Crawford's gal (Francis) but it doesn't mean much since Scott and Crawford spend barely any time together (the brothers don't even remember him at the beginning when he comes into town) so Scott doesn't feel torn.
Crawford is excellent. Andy Devine is effective (I like these women fighting over him) and has a moving death scene. Brian Donlevy is wasted in his part - he looks dynamic and you expect him to play an important part but he doesn't. Francis doesn't have much to do but I did enjoy seeing someone with her star power in the role - and her acting is fine, she conveys "tormented" well.
Really the film should have been about brothers in love with the same girl and they all wind up dead. I wonder if that was the original concept.
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