Bandoleiros do Oeste

In the tension-filled post-Civil War years, a former Confederate General-turned-Texas rancher is desperate for the Army and the railroad to lay their tracks south to help his economically-bedraggled state, aided and abetted in his mission by old friend 'Wild Bill' Hickok, a sympathetic 'Buffalo Bill' Cody, and a whip-wiedling, flame-haired Calamity Jane. Universal western mixes outdoor locations and backlot scenes with stock shots and a multitude of close-ups (which often don't match the long-shots), not unlike the popular television westerns of the era. Too-modern overall, with laughable scenes such as when Cody advises Jane to wear some makeup once in a while to attract men (she's already sporting more makeup--including lipstick and false eyelashes--than most saloon girls). Brian Keith has to play the lead as both goodhearted family man and guerrilla fighter on horseback, which is an intriguing combination that the filmmakers just fritter away. *1/2 from ****