Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

jacobs-greenwood Directed by Stuart Heisler, and written by John Twist, this needlessly complex and talky Western with a B movie feel that includes some comedy (intentional or otherwise) might please only fans of its lead actor Gary Cooper, who plays a familiar role as a wronged man waging a solo battle of revenge.Coop plays Blayde 'Red' Hollister, a Confederate army officer who'd headed west after the Civil War to find and kill those responsible for torching his home and killing his family in Georgia. He's pretty sure it was the Marlow brothers, but he needs proof to satisfy his personal code before he can exact his revenge. Steve Cochran and Raymond Massey play Brant and Will Marlow, respectively (Zon Murray appears uncredited as the third).The Marlows have setup shop in and around the growing, relatively new titled Texas city. Will has established himself as the town's banker while his brothers and their henchman rustle cattle to prevent Will's clients from being able to pay their mortgages, so that Will can then seize their lands. One such family that's falling prey to Marlow's land grab scheme is the Robles: patriarch Don Felipe (Antonio Moreno), his lovely daughter Tonia (Ruth Roman), and son Luis (Gil Donaldson), who'd been shot and injured by Brant, the brother that 'respectable' Will can barely keep under 'control'.The story actually begins in retiring Marshal Wild Bill Hickok's (Reed Hadley) town, where the lawman come actor stages a shootout with his 'friend' Hollister in which he pretends to kill him, enabling the rebel to assume another identity in order to freely pursue those that killed his kin. Lucky for Hollister, an eastern dandy named Martin Weatherby (Leif Erickson) had just arrived on the stagecoach from Boston to become Dallas's U.S. Marshal. Since the real Weatherby is hardly qualified for the job at hand, he allows Hollister to pretend to be him for a time, which causes complications when it inadvertently begins a love triangle with his fiancée Tonia.Several chase sequences on horseback and requisite shootouts are included in the action, but there's no real drama nor question as to whether Cooper's character will get his man/men and the girl. The showdown between Hollister and Brant is ludicrous enough - he uses a cat to force the killer to reveal himself - but the final showdown is exceedingly tedious: in a darkened fireplace lit room, Hollister throws objects, taunts and counts bullets while Will fires wildly until he's out whereupon he rushes the pre-locked door so the two can wrestle until (guess who) prevails.Barbara Payton plays Brant's girlfriend Flo, who's not only frustrated with having to live in a dusty remote hideout with a bunch of bandits but also with the lack of brain power her man exhibits when he enables the captured Cooper-Weatherby character to talk his way into an escape. Jerome Cowan plays a townsman Matt Coulter and Will Wright appears uncredited as Dallas Judge Harper.

ianlouisiana There is something feline - almost feminine - in the way Mr G.Cooper walks to his first - reel showdown with Wild Bill Hickock(a piece of theatre put on in order to get the law off his back) that bodes well for those who like slightly anarchic Westerns. When Mr Cooper is killed everybody in the cinema knows exactly what has gone on but it seems to fool those whom it was intended to fool,in direct contradiction to Barnum's proposition. In "Dallas" it seems that not everybody knows they are appearing in a slightly camp send - up of the big Technicolor horse operas that were Hollywood's early riposte to the television age. Miss R.Roman seems to take her role seriously,that's for certain. Mr L. Ericson plays his part as a dime store Liberace. This is the sort of film Mr A.Dwan would have delighted in. The dialogue is brilliantly anachronistic,confirming that a few tongues were in cheeks at the production office. Entertaining and amusing,"Dallas" would have been well worth my one and nine in 1950.

Spikeopath Dallas stars Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, Steve Cochran, Barbara Payton & Raymond Massey. It's directed by Stuart Heisler, photography is from Ernest Haller & pen duties fell to John Twist. Produced out of Warner Brothers, Dallas is vividly filmed in Technicolor out of the Iverson & Warner ranches in California. Very much a film with its tongue firmly in cheek, the film is a throwback to the Westerns of yore that exist without pretensions or deep penetrative meanings.The plot sees Cooper's Civil War renegade, Blayde "Reb" Hollister, fake his own death so as to kill off his reputation and to free himself for the pursuit into Dallas of the brothers who massacred his family. In essence a routine plot, Twist's story is perked up along the way by many a fun and exciting diversion. There's role reversals, dandy fashions, horseback pursuits, shoot outs, a love triangle, vigorous dialogue and deft little twists to keep the piece purely from painting it by numbers.Cooper seems to be enjoying himself too, which further enhances the feel good factor on offer. It's true he isn't really asked to do anything more than be a laconic dude on a mission. But when called on for action duties, he delivers the goods that his fans have come to expect during his successful career. The villains entertain (particularly Steve Cochran's vile and dopey Bryant Marlow) because each have their own little peccadilloes to keep them from over familiar blandness. The two ladies of the piece look gorgeous and hold up well in amongst the machismo, while the high production value allows Haller to really treat the eyes with the lush Technicolor and involving camera work around the locations.It has ideals to being an "A" list Oater does Dallas, something it just can't quite attain. But it's not for lack of trying and the end result is one of pure entertainment, that, in truth, should be enjoyed on a cold winters day when the viewer needs a pick me up. 7/10

headhunter46 Gary Cooper is a cool headed guy. Always liked his easy going level headed characters. As some others have commented, there are some oddities in the script, such as a US Marshall who got his job and can't even hit a barn with a pistol. A rancher with about thirty hands but can't seem to keep his cattle from being run off.But there is plenty of the quick thinking, straight shooting Cooper to keep you entertained.This movie was made in 1950. People in their 20's and 30's have trouble understanding those movies were made for entertainment not Oscars. To expect Oscar material does this film injustice. It is about the good guys finding a way to round up the bad guys.So rent, borrow, or buy this movie, pop some corn and enjoy the Coop one more time.