Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Wuchak RELEASED IN 1947 and written & directed by James Edward Grant, "Angel and the Badman" is a Western starring John Wayne as a gunslinger in Arizona who finds temporary sanctuary with some pacifistic Quakers. And maybe love too with the beautiful daughter (Gail Russell). Bruce Cabot plays the gunman's nemesis while Harry Carey plays the aged-but-still-formidable marshal. It's too bad that this was shot in B&W because the locations are spectacular. Wayne was facing his 40th birthday when this was filmed, which is funny because the daughter's mother (Irene Rich) keeps referring to how "young" he is. In any case, John was lean and relatively youthful-looking. On the other side of the spectrum, Gail is utterly stunning with her captivating eyes. Speaking of the feminine cast, saloon girls Joan Barton and Rosemary Bertrand are nothing to sneeze at. One problem is that the romance is too blatant and develops way too quickly. But there are a few praiseworthy action sequences. One notable scene involves a couple in a wagon going off a cliff into a body of water. The subtext relays three philosophies on violence: (1.) living it as a lifestyle, (2.) resorting to violence only when justifiable and more peaceful ways have been attempted or (3.) relying completely on nonviolent methods. Needless to say, the middle position is the best one and is, in fact, what the New Testament supports. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hours & 40 minutes and was shot entirely in Arizona (Sedona, Monument Valley & Flagstaff). GRADE: B-

James Hitchcock Before seeing this film I had never come across the word "badman" (as opposed to "bad man"), but according to the dictionary it is an Americanism for a hired gunman, outlaw, gangster or criminal. The "badman" here is the oddly-named Quirt Evans, a notorious Wild West gunfighter. Quirt claims to have fought alongside Wyatt Earp at the Gunfight at the OK Corral and, for the purposes of the film we are supposed to accept this as the truth, although in reality the only men on Earp's side at the Gunfight were his brothers Morgan and Virgil and his friend Doc Holliday. It becomes clear, however, that not all of Quirt's battles were fought in the side of law enforcement, and he has acquired a fearsome reputation.The "angel" of the title is Penelope Worth, the daughter of a pious Quaker farming family. When Quirt collapses on their property after being wounded in a fight, the compassionate family nurse him back to health and try to shield him from both the authorities and from his enemies. The film tells the story of how Quirt and Penelope fall for one another and how, under the influence of her pacifist beliefs, he reforms his violent ways.(You can tell that the Worths are Quakers because they still use the archaic second person singular, although they seem not to understand the grammatical rules governing its use- "thee are" rather than "thou art", for example. Also, they have converted the use of "thee" and "thou" into the equivalent of the French "tutoiement", using these forms to friends, family members and lovers and "you" to everyone else, even though the original Quaker motive for using this type of speech was the egalitarian desire to have one form of address for everyone).The film can be seen as an early example of a "revisionist Western", calling into question the "Code of the West" which had provided the moral framework for most traditional Westerns. According to this code certain types of violence were always wrong, such as violence in furtherance of a crime, shooting an unarmed man or shooting a man in the back. It was, however, permissible to use violence not only in self-defence or the defence of others, but also to uphold the law or to defend one's honour. A good example is "High Noon" in which the hero, Marshal Kane, has plenty of opportunity to avoid a shoot-out with the villains but refuses to take it, believing that to run away would be cowardly and dishonourable."Angel and the Badman" is very different from the "revisionist Westerns" of the sixties and seventies like "The Wild Bunch", which were in themselves often very violent and which tried to call the Code into question by denying that anyone in the Old West had ever lived by it. In such films there is often little difference in moral terms between the supposed "white hats" and the "black hats". Here, however, writer-director James Edward Grant does not deny the existence of a Code; the lawman played by Harry Carey is a good example of a character who tries to observe it. What Grant does is to contrast the Code of the West with an alternative system of values, the Code of Christ with its emphasis on peace.John Wayne was, perhaps more than any other actor, widely associated with traditional Western values and the "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do" mentality, so it perhaps comes as a surprise to see him in a more pacifist Western like this one. He acted as producer as well as the leading man, however- indeed, this was the first film he produced- which suggested that he believed in it. His role here in some ways anticipates his final film, "The Shootist" from nearly thirty years later, in which he also plays a notorious gunfighter seeking redemption, except in that case he is seeking it through the traditional Code and not through a religious conversion.Wayne's co-star Gail Russell is an actress I had heard about but never previously seen. She was a contemporary of Marilyn Monroe and like her died at thirty-six. Monroe, however, has become one of the most iconic figures of the twentieth century whereas Russell has faded into obscurity, probably because Marilyn remained in the spotlight throughout her life while Gail was largely a forgotten figure even at the time of her early death, her acting career having been cut short by alcoholism. Here as Penelope, however, she reveals not considerable talent but also a haunting, ethereal beauty which puts her up there with the likes of Gene Tierney and Jennifer Jones as the loveliest Hollywood stars of the forties and which seems entirely appropriate for a girl nicknamed "Angel".Despite the generally pacific tone of the movie it contains a considerable amount of action; there is even a final shoot-out although Quirt, as a reformed character, does not shoot anyone. Grant, clearly influenced by John Ford, films it against some striking Western scenery, including Ford's beloved Monument Valley. Its moral message, however, makes it an unusual Western; its closing line "Only a man who carries a gun ever needs one" is not a sentiment frequently heard in the genre. It could, however, serve as a motto for America's modern pro-gun-control lobby. 7/10

arfdawg-1 Quirt Evans, an all round bad guy.He is nursed back to health and sought after by Penelope Worth a quaker girl. He eventually finds himself having to choose between his world and the world Penelope lives in.Which will he choose?It a decent Western of the kind they don't make any longer.John Wayne was such a good actor. Really no one can take his place.There's a reason he was always on the top 10 box office list his entire career.

Mickey Micklon A wounded "Quirt Evans" (John Wayne) is injured even more as his horse collapses near the house of a Quaker family, who take him in and treat him.He catches the eye of the daughter in the family (Gail Russell), and he is obviously attracted to her. But, he just can't shake his past as outlaws and the law alike try to get them for whatever reason.Now he has to look at himself and try to figure out what to do with his life.I have been watching a lot of movies starring John Wayne lately on Hulu, and this is easily the longest one so far. It is also one of the best ones on the site.For the first time in his career, Wayne is pulling double duty in this film. First, he is the leading man, as well as a first-time producer. Since I have no clue as to a producer's job, all I can do is judge him on his performance in front of the camera. And I have to say he does a pretty good job.What makes this Western unique is that it focuses on the personal conflict of "Evans," while throwing everything familiar to Westerns in. The focus is on "Evan's" personal struggle more than the typical plot of a Western.Violence in this movie is fairly tame in this movie, even by the standards of the time of its release. You get some shooting, and one fist fight (which mostly remains off-screen), and one attack from behind with an object from their surroundings. The violence is tame most likely because of the morality of the plot.I was not impressed with the romance subplot. Actually, not the way it was handled. I found it to be pretty weak, and not given the screen time it should have had. I think that the two involved were rushed in the storyline, and not given time to develop the on-screen relationship.I was also not impressed with the chemistry between Wayne and Russell. They had some chemistry together, but nothing impressive. In fact, I wasn't impressed with much of the chemistry between many cast members.I did not like many of the supporting cast, many of which didn't have time to develop. The child actor in this movie was pretty annoying, and seemed to be there just to throw out some complaints as some poor comic relief that, for me, didn't even produce a chuckle.Unlike other recent movies I've watched starring Wayne, I didn't hear any problems with audio. I did have a problem with the picture going fuzzy at times. It appears that Hulu got a bad print to upload. Also, unlike the other movies I've seen in the last couple of weeks, it appeared there was more music in the film. I didn't find any of the music helping in enhancing scenes, and can't remember any particular piece of music except a song being performed on stage in a bar scene.Parents need not worry about the violence in this film. It's pretty mild. You can watch this movie with no problem. In fact, parents will like the moral of this story.