SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

ppilf Gail Russell is the only part of this movie worth viewing. Her role is the only thing to salvage it from utter boredom. The story is somewhat okay; but the directing, dialog, sets, camera work, background music, film editing, screenplay, and costumes are all mediocre. John Wayne's acting performance, like most of the remaining cast, is unconvincing to downright hammy. Words that describe this film production: unprofessional, phony, corny. Not once did this movie make me feel as if I were in the old west, among gunfighters, on a Quaker farmstead, in an 1800's church meeting, or a saloon. Instead, the whole time I felt like I was on the movie set of a B-western. We all know that the Duke matured into a professional actor later in his life. But in his early and middle career, his performance depended a great deal on the quality of direction, production staff, script, and supporting actors, as this movie attests. On the other hand, Gail Russell's acting performance and beauty prove what natural talent and star potential she had. It's such a tragedy that she suffered the emotional and alcohol abuse problems that ruined her life and career, and cut them both so tragically short.

PamelaShort Angel and The Badman is a quaint romantic western with a predictable story, but in this case it really works. The film is a perfect blend of an extremely ruthless gunslinger being tamed by the highly moral Quakers. Opposites attract, as the lovely and sweet Quaker girl Penelope Worth, ( Gail Russell ) falls in love with badman Quirt Evans, ( John Wayne ) who tries to resist the tempting gentle beauty for awhile . His rough past follows him though, with the persistent single-minded older sheriff, Wistful McClintock ( Harry Carey ) who was always determined to bring Quirt Evans to justice. But he's not the only nemesis in Quirt's criminal past. As the story builds, it ends superbly with the tender Quaker girl, finally asserting herself, convincing the badman to hang up his weapons for good. Gail Russell excels in her performance, proving to be a very versatile actress. Along with an interesting cast of characters, all finely played by a good first-rate cast, this film is surprisingly impressive. The message of the opposition to violence, is a different and refreshing change for a John Wayne movie. John Wayne was such an important star for Republic Pictures, that they allowed him to produce this film. Although not a classic, the results are still enjoyable and worth a look.

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.

zardoz-13 Former Chicago newspaper reporter James Edward Grant spent most of his career either penning or polishing screenplays for John Wayne, and Grant handed Wayne one of his best and earliest western classics in 1947 with "Angel and the Badman" that Wayne produced as his first film and Grant helmed. This amiable black & white oater about a scrappy saddle tramp befriended by a family of friendly Quakers after he has been wounded in a gunfight with three other men is a conversion saga. The Quakers, particularly their young, starry-eyed daughter, eventually convince the gunslinging hero to change his way, hang up his six-gun, and till the soil. John Wayne is perfectly cast as Quirt Evans, a fast-drawing, crack-shooting cowboy and Gail Russell is Penelope Worth. Clocking in at 100 minutes, "Angel and the Badman" is a top-notch horse opera that never run out of energy and triggers a surprise or two. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent with Bruce Cabot of "Dodge City" as the evil villain Laredo Stevens and Harry Carey stealing the show every time he sneaks into the picture as Territorial Marshal Wistful McClintock. Carey is really funny, too, especially his dialogue about how he isn't going to hang Quirt with a 'new' rope. "Angel and the Badman" benefits from the chemistry between Wayne and Russell who appear to be genuinely made for each other. Although there is a lot of romance, this western boasts enough action to keep the guys happy. A cattle stampede and a runaway wagon chase are two highlights. "Riders of Destiny" lenser Archie Stout makes this Republic western look sprawling and scenic. The best scene in the movie occurs early in the action as the doctor is struggling to sedate Quirt Evans so that he can remove a bullet in his chest. No matter how much laudanum he administers to Quirt, Quirt refuses to stop thrashing around in the best. Penelope's father Thomas Worth (John Halloran of "Blood on the Sun") scrambles downstairs and retrieves Quirt's six-gun dangling outside their house, empties the cartridges from the cylinder and then sticks it into Quirt's hand and Quirt settles down for the doctor to extract the bullet. The scenes where Quirt gets an unfriendly landowner who has blocked up a stream to the Quakers' farms is memorable, too. Chief comic relief is provided by the beanpole town telegrapher (Olin Howland of "Gone with the Wind") who brags later about how close Quirt and he are after he sends a telegram for him. Actually, "Angel and the Badman" is a precursor of sorts to the Alan Ladd oater "Shane," because Quirt defends the Quakers from their enemies. The surprise ending when Quirt rides out to gun down Laredo and his henchmen is good. Grant's dialogue is good, too. "Angel and the Badman" is a thoroughly entertaining, somewhat predictable, rarely outlandish, but good looking western. The scene between Quirt and Penelope when she tells him about the significance of using "thee" and "thou" is imaginative, too.