''The Badlanders'' is a 1958 American

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

caper film The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime film focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery. One of the early defining heist films was ''The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), which ''Film Genre 2000'' wrote "almo ...

directed by

Delmer Daves Delmer Lawrence Daves (July 24, 1904 – August 17, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director and film producer. He worked in many genres, including film noir and warfare, but he is best known for his Western movies, especially '' Broke ...

and starring Alan Ladd and

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

.''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' film review; July 16, 1958, p. 6.'' Harrison's Reports'' film review; July 19, 1958, p. 114. Based on the 1949 novel ''The Asphalt Jungle'' by

W. R. Burnett William Riley Burnett (November 25, 1899 April 25, 1982) was an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for the crime novel ''Little Caesar'', the film adaptation of which is considered the first of the classic American gangster ...

, the story was given an 1898 setting by screenwriter Richard Collins. It is the second film adaptation of the novel following 1950's ''

The Asphalt Jungle ''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American film noir heist film directed by John Huston. Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city. The film stars Sterling Hayden and L ...

.''

Plot

In 1898, two men are released from the Arizona Territorial Prison. One, mining engineer and geologist Peter Van Hoek, nicknamed the "Dutchman", tells the warden he was framed for the robbery of a gold shipment from the Lisbon Mine. The other, John McBain, killed Bascomb, the man who cheated him out of his land. The two men head separately to the town of Prescott, where neither is welcome. The marshal, whom Van Hoek accuses of framing him, orders him to leave town on the next stagecoach, at sundown the next day. At the hotel, the Dutchman meets guest Ada Winton, the lonely mistress of Cyril Lounsberry. McBain rescues a Mexican woman, Anita, when men accost her on the street. Though Leslie, the deputy, saves McBain's life in the ensuing fight, he gives McBain the same deadline to leave, even though McBain's folks settled the township. A grateful Anita invites McBain to stay in her place, and the two are attracted to each other. She admits having been a prostitute but McBain finally does not care. The Dutchman gets Sample to introduce him to Lounsberry. Lounsberry had married Bascomb's homely sister for her money. Van Hoek offers to sell him gold ore from an extremely rich deposit that only he knows about. It is worth at least $200,000, but Van Hoek will be satisfied with half that amount in cash. He lies when Lounsberry jokingly asks if it is from his wife's Lisbon Mine. The prospect of being a rich man in his own right and leaving for Europe with Ada makes Lounsberry agree. Van Hoek recruits a reluctant McBain and demolition expert Vincente for his scheme. They time it so the explosion needed to extract the ore goes off at the same time as the regular blasting. They get the ore out, but when Van Hoek and McBain take it to Lounsberry, he tries to double cross them. Leslie is killed and McBain wounded in the ensuing gunfight. Van Hoek takes McBain to Anita's place and digs out the bullet, then leaves in a wagon with the gold. However, Lounsberry, Sample and their men soon corner him in town during a fiesta. McBain goes to the Dutchman's aid. Then Anita has her many Mexican friends surround and disarm the villains. Van Hoek entrusts McBain and Anita with the gold, telling them he will meet them later in Durango to split it up equally. Then, keeping his word, he leaves on the stagecoach with fellow passenger Ada.

Cast

* Alan Ladd as Peter Van Hoek *

as John McBain *

Katy Jurado María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García (16 January 1924 – 5 July 2002), known professionally as Katy Jurado, was a Mexican actress. Jurado began her acting career in Mexico during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In 1951, she was rec ...

as Anita * Claire Kelly as Ada Winton *

Kent Smith Frank Kent Smith (March 19, 1907 – April 23, 1985) was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theatre and television. Early years Smith was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Smith. He was born in New York City and was educated ...

as Cyril Lounsberry *

Nehemiah Persoff Nehemiah Persoff (August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022) was an American character actor and painter. He appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and theatre productions and also performed as a voice artist in a career spanning 55 years, be ...

as Vincente *

Robert Emhardt Robert Emhardt (July 24, 1914 – December 26, 1994) was an American character actor who worked on stage, in film and on television. Emhardt was frequently cast as a villain, often a crooked businessman or corrupt politician. Early years E ...

as Sample * Anthony Caruso as Comanche * Adam Williams as Leslie *

Ford Rainey Ford Rainey (August 8, 1908 – July 25, 2005) was an American film, stage, and television actor.Myrna Oliver"Ford Rainey, 96; Performed Shakespeare, Shepard and Variety of Film, TV Roles" ''Los Angeles Times'', July 26, 2005. Early life Rainey ...

as Prison Warden * John Daheim as Lee

Production

The movie was produced by Aaron Rosenberg, who had a deal to make films for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. Originally it was announced that the star would be

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

. Then James Cagney and Paul Newman were going to play the leads. Eventually Alan Ladd signed to star; it was his first movie at MGM.

was his co-star. Shooting took place at the MGM studio with three weeks location work in Kingman, Arizona. The movie was also shot at

Old Tucson Studios Old Tucson (formerly Old Tucson Studios) is an American movie studio and theme park just west of Tucson, Arizona, adjacent to the Tucson Mountains and close to the western portion of Saguaro National Park. Built in 1939 for the movie ''Arizona'' ...

. Ernest Borgnine and Katy Jurado fell in love during the making of the film and were married.Turner Classic Movies
/ref>

Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $970,000 in the US and Canada and $1,135,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $373,000.

References

External links

* * * *
Review of film
at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Badlanders, The 1950s heist films 1958 Western (genre) films 1958 films American heist films Films based on American novels Films based on works by W. R. Burnett Films directed by Delmer Daves Films set in Arizona Films shot in Tucson, Arizona Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films CinemaScope films Color film noir 1950s English-language films 1950s American films