SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

PodBill Just what I expected

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

kevin olzak 1941's "Badlands Of Dakota" is a higher budgeted 'B' Western from Universal, with a fascinating cast. Top billed Robert Stack gives the least interesting performance (not really his fault), as Jim Holliday, freewheeling brother of tough saloon owner Bob Holliday (Broderick Crawford); when Bob finds that his girl back east (Ann Rutherford) has decided to marry Jim, he falls in with Deadwood villain Jack McCall (Lon Chaney), whose gang commits raids disguised as native Indians. Of greater interest are the supporting players, Richard Dix as Wild Bill Hickok, and especially Frances Farmer as Jane (minus the 'Calamity'), who carries a torch for Bob, and must play a part in his downfall. With Hugh Herbert, Andy Devine, and Fuzzy Knight, we have an abundance of comic relief, and future Frankenstein Monster Glenn Strange is among Chaney's gang. Broderick Crawford and Hugh Herbert were coming off the comic Poe "The Black Cat"; Chaney and Crawford would work together again in "North to the Klondike," "Not as a Stranger," and "Big House, U. S. A."; Richard Dix soon reunited with Chaney in "Eyes of the Underworld." But in this film, no one can steal the thunder from Frances Farmer, whose commanding presence and captivating beauty prove to have been unique and unforgettable.

Alex da Silva Robert Stack (Jim) is the wimpy younger brother of Deadwood saloon owner Broderick Crawford (Bob) who sends him to bring Ann Rutherford (Anne) from another town so that Crawford can marry her. However, on the journey back to Deadwood, Stack and Rutherford fall in love and marry. Guess what - Crawford isn't too happy about this! Crawford plans his revenge and gets brother Stack elected Marshall of Deadwood while he joins up with the town's bad guys and takes part in a couple of robberies. At the end, we have an Indian attack on the town of Deadwood and the inevitable confrontation between the brothers.The quality of this film is poor and unfortunately, the story drags. It's not very interesting. Frances Farmer (Jane) and Richard Dix (Wild Bill Hickok) are wasted in this film. The emphasis should have been on these two characters and Crawford rather than the sickeningly bland relationship between Stack and Rutherford. The film picks up pace at the end with the Indian attack but it's too late to save the day. It's a shame because given the cast, the film promises more than it delivers, apart from the comedy characters who are always annoying. In particular Andy Devine's irritating voice - he sounds like he has got a frog permanently in his throat. CLEAR YOUR THROAT BEFORE TALKING. Don Barclay as the drunk is another low-point - please get him off the screen, he's not funny.The 2 leads in this film fail to excite the audience and this, coupled with the poor quality, results in your mind wandering off to more interesting places.

bengleson Like a number of his earlier works, Badlands of Dakota assisted Broderick Crawford to develop the pained, overachieving Willie Stark he so absorbingly played in ALL THE KINGS MEN. The warpaint he occasionally dons does detract from the seriousness of his delivery but with plot twists like the finale, the paint probably was a welcome cover for his embarrassment. What I did like about the film was the restrained performance of Richard Dix as Wild Bill Hickok and the raw and bitter characterization of Calamity Jane by the exquisite and doomed France Farmer. The film is worth the time spent watching it if only to watch Farmer's swaggering scenes and to hear her deep and soothing voice.

jmk56 An interesting, fairly high-budget (at least by Universal standards) western, mixing historical characters like Will Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane in a fictional environment. The cast is uniformly excellent and fairly eclectic, including Broderick Crawford and Robert Stack as brothers (and there is quite a family resemblance--NOT), Lon Chaney Jr., comedy relief by Andy Devine and Hugh Herbert, a barbershop quartet (in fact, everything including the kitchen sink), but most importantly, a radiant Frances Farmer in an impressive characterization as Calamity Jane. More luminous than Jean Arthur, and more raucous and even vulnerable than Doris Day, this is easily Farmer's best performance from the last part of her career before her unfortunate arrest and institutionalization. The film seems to have been worked on by several writers, and veers back and forth between straight narrative and some obviously interpolated comedy bits and barbershop numbers. An enjoyable, if historically laughable, western from Hollywood's golden era. Farmer fans will be thrilled.