Console best movie i've ever seen.

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

drystyx Some have said it's too bad Ladd made "Shane", because it overshadowed this great piece. I'd like to think there's room for both great Westerns to fill the honor roll of classic Westerns.Ladd plays a gunman named Choya. He's probably a lot like Shane, only perhaps a month before Shane becomes the character we see in his film.He's recruited by an older man to pretend to be the son of a wealthy rancher, a son who was kidnapped at the age of five.Many revelations come about during the movie, and most of them very early. The new partner of Choya (Ladd) quickly shows himself to be the last person you'd want near you, a true monster. Yet he's a very believable monster. The first death scene, which is a murder committed by this man, may be one of the best Hollywood stunt scenes ever done. It's worth watching all on its own. Too bad we never see the victim again, as he is a character we could truly like, which makes the act even more deplorable.The dramatics and action that unfold are rugged "tough guy" Western traditions united with very believable motivations. This is a great script, and it is superbly directed, which also means the acting is superb.I won't spoil the film any more. It is a truly great Western, made during the golden age of Westerns, when people actually knew some of the rugged individualists of the late nineteenth century and the West, before all of our information came from self righteous rich kids and bubble boys who probably never stepped foot in a park by themselves.Enough of the cynicism. Back to the film. It's rich and full of every ingredient, action, drama, three dimensional characters, pathos, scenery, everything that makes a great film. So sit back and enjoy.

Nazi_Fighter_David The opening scenes set the tone of the film… Ladd, an itinerant gunman known simply as Choya and with the aid of a tattooed birthmark, passes himself off as the lost son and is accepted wholeheartedly by the parents (Bickford and Royle) and Ruth (Freeman), the man's sister… Ruth had responded to his arrival on the ranch as any pretty woman would respond to a mysterious, handsome stranger, but she rapidly sets right to the fact that he is a relative… As soon as he is welcomed as Richard Jr, however, something happens to Choya… As a member of a loving family, Choya experiences feelings denied him by his own childhood and became increasingly sickened by his contribution in the tricking…Leading a cattle drive to El Paso, Choya decides to give up his charade revealing his true identity to Ruth, who turns on him with consternation and antagonism… There remains only one way to redeem himself and make up for the distressing emotion he has caused the Lavery family: To find their real son… All the elements in "Branded" are taken directly from the straight-shooting school of Western movies… Choya, despite his confession to Ruth that he is a "four-flushin' thief," is true-blue outlaw hero… The smart Leffingwell has him classified correctly: "You won't hit an older man. You ain't the kind that'll draw first, or shoot a man in the back." Even with the rules thus outlined, Ladd still has a chance to present his standard beguiling bad guy early in the film, merely holding back a victorious smile as he pretends confusion over the elder Lavery's excited reaction to his birthmark… Besides its other values, "Branded" is a visual delight… In fact, the movie's one drawback as a Western entertainment is a lack of big action highlights

gpachovsky It is almost pity that Alan Ladd made such a lasting impact in "Shane." Certainly "Shane" is his best, but so closely is he identified with the role that many of his other worthy efforts have been undeservedly overlooked."Branded" is a case in point. As a western it may not pique everyone's interest, but as a morality play (as most good westerns are), it is an interesting study in personal identity, lost and found.Ladd plays one of his patented icy gunmen, this time a small-time bandit named "Choya" who "lives by his wits" but is reaching the age where he "figures his luck's running out." He becomes involved in a scheme to bilk a wealthy cattle rancher by posing as the long lost son who was kidnapped by bandits some 25 years earlier. All goes well until he arrives at the Lavery ranch only to meet a loving, trusting family which welcomes him with open arms. It is the kind of love and warmth he has never known and, for the first time in his life, begins to question his motives. Resolving that he cannot go through with the sham, he sets out to find the real son and return him to the family.The film is a good showcase for Ladd, one of the '40s and early 50s decades' most bankable stars. He appears in almost every scene and dominates it without deliberately bringing attention to himself. But equal credit must go to the supporting players who attack their roles with vigor and enthusiasm. Charles Bickford (who never, it seems, gave a bad performance) dignifies the proceedings with his presence as Lavery, the firm but fair cattle baron. Robert Keith is scornful as Leffingwell, a weasel of a man who knows his limitations but who also knows how to survive through cunning and maleficence. Joseph Calleia excels as Rubriz, the notorious Mexican bandit and the true son's adoptive father, whose character is not entirely reprehensible and whose own plight is worthy of our sympathy. And Mona Freeman is fine as the rancher's naïve but pretty daughter. She looks just angelic enough to lend credibility to Choya's reformation. In terms of plot and presentation, "Branded" recalls the excellent silent films of William S. Hart whose westerns strove for authenticity and were the first to explore serious adult themes (unlike the formulaic Saturday matinée fare). All the ingredients are there: from the good-badman's colorful nickname to the young woman whose wide-eyed innocence leads him to question his unprincipled ways to the conflict between protagonist and adversary that eventually morphs into mutual respect. The action, primarily provided by a lengthy chase, is plentiful while the gunplay is minimal, serving only to advance the plot.Directed by one-time cinematographer Rudolph Mate, "Branded" is a beautiful film its colorful, sweeping Arizona landscapes and wide open spaces. Mate made a number of pictures in the '50s, most of them genre-types such as "DOA" (film noir), "The Prince who was a Thief" (adventure), and "When Worlds Collide" (fantasy). Though few became bona-fide classics, all are highly entertaining and a joy to watch. "Branded" is one of his best.

bkoganbing While on the dodge from a shooting scrape, gunfighter Alan Ladd meets up with a pair of drifters, Robert Keith and John Berkes. They want him to pose as the long lost son of a prominent Texas rancher Charles Bickford who was kidnapped as a child and never heard from again. John Berkes is a tattoo artist and he gives Alan Ladd a tattoo that looks like a birth mark the child had. It works all too well as Ladd is welcomed into the home of Bickford and wife Selena Royle. In addition there's a sister in the home played by Mona Freeman and Ladd is not developing brotherly feelings for her.In the end he can't go through with fleecing these decent people and Ladd sets out to set things right.Branded was Ladd's second starring western after Whispering Smith and he proved to be equally well received here. The urban Ladd of the films Paramount put him in starting with This Gun for Hire gradually gave way to a western character and he would do more of them of varying quality over the rest of his career. The best of which was that immortal classic Shane.In one sense though Ladd's character is very much like Raven in This Gun for Hire. Both of them were orphans with great big chips on their shoulders. Imagine Raven a little earlier than when he met up with Veronica Lake and got into the home of a couple like Bickford and Royle and you have a pretty good idea of what Ladd's character Choya is like in Branded.Acting honors however go to the ever dependable Joseph Calleia as a Mexican bandit chief and to Robert Keith. Keith usually was a good guy in most films, a typical role for him would be the father of the Tuttle girls as he was in Young at Heart. He completely plays against type as a slime ball bottom feeder who turns out to be far more despicable than even we originally think.Branded is a good western and Alan Ladd and the cast members should be proud of their work in this one.