vincentlynch-moonoi
I was tempted to give this movie a "6", but one thing saved it -- it's different...not the typical Western.That doesn't mean that it doesn't have problems. First off, I don't buy that tattoos look exactly like birthmarks. Second, much later in the film, the landscape is swarming with Mexicans hunting Ladd and his charge...but they sneak through. It's a lot to swallow. And, the "Mexican father" gives up way too easily to make a happy ending.On the positive side, Ladd was a good actor and is good here. Mona Freeman was decent as the future love interest. Charles Bickford, a very good actor, didn't get much screen time; that was a disappointment. Robert Keith was, to be honest, too villainous, making his part seem like a caricature. Joseph Calleia as the "Mexican father"...a little stereotypical, as well. Peter Hansen as the son...he is satisfactory.
Selena Royle, apparently once the lover of Spencer Tracy...is fine as the mother. Tom Tully, whom I remembered well from "The Caine Muitiny" is along as a ranch hand, as is Milburn Stone (Doc from "Gunsmoke)...but I didn't recognize him at all.This is a film that could use some restoration. It was filmed in various places in central Arizona, and it's gorgeous scenery.It's okay to pass some time, but this is not one of the great Westerns.
rhklwk-1
My father and I went to the drive-in movies every weekend during the first half of the 1950s, and I can vividly recall seeing a number of Alan Ladd movies sitting in our '50 Ford and munching on cracker jacks while Dad smoked unfiltered Pall Malls.Dad thought Alan Ladd was the best, and I always assumed that he based his opinion mostly on Ladd's indelible turn in "Shane." But, I can't help but think that "Branded" played no small part in forming his opinion.What a gem of a movie! I may have seen it as a youngster and, if so, I waited more than 60 years to see it again. It was worth the wait! First, the characters, the script, and the storyline are believable. The players think like we do, talk like we do, and act like we do. That usually is enough to attract some interest in a film. But this movie offers much more.The cinematography is breathtaking. This little film yields nothing to "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" or "Rio Grande." The scenery, the color, the lighting, are all superior.The horsemanship is spectacular. How often can you say that about an "oater." The riders in this film gallop along narrow ridge-lines and down steep grades. And there is nothing to cushion their fall except red rock. And take a look at the camera angles, as the riders are tearing down the trail.And the music! Again, how often do you get to praise the score in a Western? The score is taut, and adds much to the drama and the excitement.The cast is excellent. And it gives the viewer the chance to see Alan Ladd just before he filmed "Shane." Sure, there were about four movies between "Branded" and "Shane," but "Shane" sat on the shelf for two years before it was released in 1953, so it was actually filmed right after "Branded." You could almost say that Ladd auditioned his Shane character in this film.This small picture probably had a small budget and a limited release. But it is an "A" picture in every respect. Any retrospective on Ladd or classic Westerns should include this little gem.
Nazi_Fighter_David
The opening scenes set the tone of the film
Ladd, an itinerant gunman known simply as Choya and with the aid of a tattooed birthmark, passes himself off as the lost son and is accepted wholeheartedly by the parents (Bickford and Royle) and Ruth (Freeman), the man's sister
Ruth had responded to his arrival on the ranch as any pretty woman would respond to a mysterious, handsome stranger, but she rapidly sets right to the fact that he is a relative
As soon as he is welcomed as Richard Jr, however, something happens to Choya
As a member of a loving family, Choya experiences feelings denied him by his own childhood and became increasingly sickened by his contribution in the tricking
Leading a cattle drive to El Paso, Choya decides to give up his charade revealing his true identity to Ruth, who turns on him with consternation and antagonism
There remains only one way to redeem himself and make up for the distressing emotion he has caused the Lavery family: To find their real son
All the elements in "Branded" are taken directly from the straight-shooting school of Western movies
Choya, despite his confession to Ruth that he is a "four-flushin' thief," is true-blue outlaw hero
The smart Leffingwell has him classified correctly: "You won't hit an older man. You ain't the kind that'll draw first, or shoot a man in the back." Even with the rules thus outlined, Ladd still has a chance to present his standard beguiling bad guy early in the film, merely holding back a victorious smile as he pretends confusion over the elder Lavery's excited reaction to his birthmark
Besides its other values, "Branded" is a visual delight
In fact, the movie's one drawback as a Western entertainment is a lack of big action highlights
Michael O'Keefe
Choya(Alan Ladd)is a drifter that shows up at the Lavery ranch. Mr. Lavery(Charles Bickford)is led to believe that Choya is his long lost son that was kidnapped some twenty-five years ago. He and his partner (Robert Keith)plan on conning Lavery out of his ranch and fortune. He is showered with affection from Mrs. Lavery(Selena Royle)and her daughter Ruth(Mona Freeman).The drifter now wants no part of the scheme to rob his "new family". Choya has second thoughts and heads to Mexico on a tip of the whereabouts of Tonio(Peter Hansen), the Lavery's real son. Nice western. Also in the cast: Joseph Calleia, Tom Tully and Milburn Stone.
AD
