The Bushwhackers

1951
Approved
1h 10m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

An evil arthritic rancher and his murderous daughter are having settlers killed to prevent them from selling their land to the railroad.An evil arthritic rancher and his murderous daughter are having settlers killed to prevent them from selling their land to the railroad.An evil arthritic rancher and his murderous daughter are having settlers killed to prevent them from selling their land to the railroad.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.6/10

363

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Directorial debut of Rod Amateau.

Goofs
The opening battle scene breaches one of the conventions of film-making. The opening shot shows Union cavalry charging from the left of screen to the right. This is followed by shots of Confederate Infantry on the right of the screen firing to the left. There follow some other shots, some showing troops charging directly at the camera, others showing Union cavalry coming from the left of screen. The final shots of the battle show the Confederate infantry retreating to the left of screen pursued by Union infantry coming from the right. The convention would dictate that the Union troops should always come from the left, and that the Confederate troops should have retreated to the right of screen.

Quotes
Jefferson Waring: I can't feel a thing for ya, Taylor. You're a beaten old man and I'm not sorry. You've ruined so many lives yours isn't even a down payment.

Connections
Referenced in Madelynn Kopple on Kid Monk Baroni (and Other Jack Broder Movies) (2007)

Soundtracks
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
(uncredited)
Written by Julia Ward Howe
Chorus heard as a theme after the initial battle scenes

User reviews18

Review

Featured review

6/10

John Ireland and Lon Chaney

1951's "The Bushwhackers" is a very tight, tough hour-long Western, featuring a solid cast of capable veterans. The Civil War has just ended, and confederate soldier Jefferson Waring (John Ireland) believes he'll never again have to point a gun at another man. Unfortunately, he soon finds himself in a lawless Western town where the settlers are battling to defend their homes against evil, greedy homesteaders headed by Artemus Taylor (Lon Chaney), a crippled, wheelchair-bound madman whose bitterness is matched by his devoted daughter (Myrna Dell), who may be even more ruthless than he is. Among the many familiar faces, Wayne Morris easily stands out as a marshal clearly working out of Taylor's pocket, yet trying vainly to keep the peace, mainly through jailing the unarmed Waring. Third-billed Lawrence Tierney, never at home in Westerns like his younger brother Scott Brady, is totally wasted as a hired gun, dispatched midway through, while Jack Elam relishes his bad guy role, whether lasciviously eyeing the ladies or simply killing people. Despite playing the lead villain, Lon Chaney has very little screen time (only three scenes), but this elderly, arthritic character led to his being cast as Gary Cooper's elderly, arthritic Marshal in the subsequent "High Noon."