Arizona Bushwhackers

Actually, wearing a blindfold during a sitting for this movie seems like a pretty good idea given how lifeless it is. When you see it's produced by A.C. Lyles then realistic expectations are needed, his low budget Westerns grabbed the aged coat tails of a genre that had moved onto a different plain than the one Lyles now traversed. Lyles was astute enough to fill out these Oaters with names familiar to genre fans, regardless of the advent of time or box office appeal, so some interest in the said picture was there from the off.

Some of these Westerns rose above their budget limitations to be better than average, the likes of Johnny Reno, Waco and Stage to Thunder Rock, while not essential Western viewings, are good time wasters for the undemanding fan. The trouble with Arizona Bushwhackers is that it promises so much more than it can ever deliver. Proudly it tells us that it's in Technicolor and Techniscope, and it stars Howard Keel, Yvonne De Carlo, John Ireland, Marilyn Maxwell, Scott Brady, Brian Donlevy, Barton MacLane and James Craig. Hell! The opening narration is even by one James Cagney. And with a plot involving spies and gun runners in the town of Colton, where Union and Confederate operatives dwell, it's all in place for some solid "B" entertainment. Unfortunately it's a lame duck once Caggers has finished his narration.

Story limps on as the various citizens of Colton potter around wondering about who is trustworthy? Who will get caught out? Who will survive? And isn't it about time the Indians showed up? The actors, bless em', give it a good go, shuffling about in some sort of one- take wonderland, while director Lesley Selander tries hard to beef up the plot with the odd action scene; including a fight between two one armed men that I'm pretty sure isn't meant to be funny. It all builds to a hopelessly weak finale where the Indians do indeed turn up and they file in for cannon fodder duties. The colour photography is washed out, the scenic locations barely realised, and the musical score is 101 rank and file. Lifeless all told and only fans of the fading stars should seek this out so as to tick off of their completist lists. 3/10

This is one of a string of cheap westerns ground out by producer A.C. Lyles in the mid- to late '60s. The only thing they were notable for was that they gave work to faded stars who were otherwise unemployable. Everything about these films was second-rate--the stories were recycled (most of them were written by the same man, Steve Fisher), the photography was usually washed out and at times unsteady (Lyles was not a believer in shooting more than one take) and they looked rushed, which is what they were--they were usually shot in two weeks or less. This one is no different. The only advantage it has over Lyles' other pictures is that the beginning of it is narrated by none other than James Cagney, who did it as a favor to Lyles, a longtime friend. Other than that, this film has absolutely nothing going for it. It's tough to swallow even for diehard western fans like myself. Avoid it.

Despite several reviews, that state, that Richard Arlen is not, in this movie, he appears, unbilled, in a quick scene, as a banker exiting his bank. This was archive footage, from another A.C. Lyles western, that was used, to fulfill a promise, that Lyles made, to Arlen, about 40 years, previously. In the late 1920's, Lyles was an office boy, at Paramount, where Arlen was a star, who befriended him. He told Arlen, that if he ever became a producer, he would put Arlen, in every one, of his films. This was a promise, that he fulfilled, even if it was only a picture, of him, on a mantlepiece, of a brief clip, such as, in this film.

During the Civil War , Lee Travis (Howard Keel) is hired by government authority to protect townspeople from revenge-seeking outlaws and avoid arms contraband . As a spy taking job as sheriff in small western town as a cover for his espionage activities . As Travis dons a damn Yankee uniform to pull the most daring plot of the war in the West , but he is actually a confederate spy . However, he soon finds out that a local businessman is selling weapons to a band of rampaging Indians . Once there , he has to straighten out a few bad guys who have been selling guns to the Apaches . As the confederate lawman up against gunfighters , and gunrunners as well as usual Indians . As the marshal on the trail of the smugglers is accompanied by a spy woman (Ivonne De Carlo) . Town boss (Scott Brady) is behind the crime and corruption of the little town called Colton but the townspeople are too scared to help sheriff out except for Saloon gal (Marilyn Maxwell) . In the Old west there are always the men who live breathe violence and the women who hold their breath.

This ordinary western is plenty of thrills , go riding , shootouts and suspense as the dreaded final showdown approaches and the protagonist realizes he must stand alone against impossible odds , as his fellow town people for help , nobody is willing to help him ; meanwhile he attempts to clear an issue about weapon gunrunning . This routine Western has the customary story of a sheriff-for-hire who takes the law on his own hands and based on a story and screenplay by Steve Fisher. It begins as a slow-moving Western but follows to surprise us with dark characters and passable plot . This short runtime tale is almost ordinary , a pacifier comes to a town just in time to make sure its citizenry but later the events get worse . Although made in low budget by the producer A.C. Lyles , it has its good moments here and there . Acceptable acting by Howard Keel as a Confederate spy who takes a job as marshal . Notable for the presence of old Western-movie veteran such as John Ireland , Marilyn Maxwell , Scott Brady , Brian Donlevy , Barton MacLane and James Craig . Atmospheric and colorful cinematography in Technicolor , though is necessary a remastering.

This horse opera was realized in low-budget by producer A.C. Lyles and distributed by Paramount Pictures . Lyles produced a lot of Western in short or average budget such as ¨Black spurs¨(1965) , ¨Apache uprising¨(1966); ¨Johnny Reno¨ , ¨Waco¨ , ¨Red Tomahawk ¨and ¨Hostile guns¨(67) , among others ; many of them directed by R.G. Springsteen or Lesley Selander and starred by old glories such as Dana Andrews , Rory Calhoun , George Montgomery and Howard Keel . This quickie was middlingly directed by Lesley Selander , a craftsman working from the 30s . Selander is generally considered to be the most prolific director of feature Westerns of all time, with at least 107 to his credit between 1935 and 1967 . He realized his first feature in 1936, a horse opera , genre in which he would not only excel but one where he would spent much of the rest of his career . He began in this genre with series starred by Buck Jones and ¨Hopalong Cassidy¨ series starred by William Boyd such as ¨Silver on the sage¨ , ¨Three men from Texas¨ and ¨Wide open town¨. In Republic production he directed his better movies such as ¨Panhandle¨and ¨Stampede¨ starred by Rod Cameron and in RKO he directed Tim Holt in 20 films such as ¨Rio Grande patrol¨ and ¨Overland telegraph¨. He subsequently shot B-movies such as ¨Fort Vengeance¨, ¨Arrow in the desert¨, Shotgun¨, ¨Town tamer¨ and his last picture ¨Texas Kid¨. Although Selander couldn't be deemed an "A"-list director, his movies had a professionalism and a verve that many of those made by his fellow B directors lacked . He also filmed detective thrillers , action/adventure motion pictures and even a horror film or two . Rating : 5,5 . Acceptable and passable

This is the second of Howard Keel's westerns for producer A.C. Lyles that I've seen in the last several days and the fourth of Lyles during that same period. They've all been pretty enjoyable for the conventional oaters they are in the compact 90 or so minutes they run for. Among other players from previous of Lyles' pictures are: Marilyn Maxwell, Scott Brady, Brian Donlevy, John Ireland. Also, Yvonne De Carlo is the leading lady here. Keel is a rebel (Southern) turned Union soldier who becomes the new sheriff. But one doesn't know which side he's on until the middle portion. Anyway, there's also the appearance of one Roy Rogers, Jr., who shouldn't be hard to recognize especially since his character's name is Roy. Oh, and as one would expect in these oaters, Indians are also portrayed as savages though once they start moaning in pain, one by one, I couldn't help laughing since they sound soooo unconvincing! One more thing, since Ms. Maxwell's character is from New Orleans-which is a two-hour drive from where I currently live-I couldn't help but think that just three days before, when our house was out of power during Hurricane Issac, I relistened-for perhaps the upteenth time-to a cassette of her on "The Abbott & Costello Show" originally from the radio days of the '40s and she was singing "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" during what the announcer referred to was New Orleans Jazz Week. Incidentally, this particular ep had the comedy duo performing "Who's on First?" since this was also the week Joe DiMaggio was recuperating in bed. Okay, so in summary Arizona Bushwackers was another of these old-fashioned westerns that I managed to enjoy for the entertaining yarns they are. P.S. James Cagney did the beginning narration for his old friend Lyles who produced the only picture Cagney directed: Short Cut to Hell.