brillpro
Tremendously good B western which today would be an A western. Strong acting, tremendous direction and the kind of realism in fights you never see. I think the smack on the head by the horse was intentional and left in as Jet's way of showing Dude who was boss without using his gun. It may have been accidental but if so was left in because it worked.Real scenery and some really cool off the backdrop shots which really worked in color.My only problem? Where in the 1880's West does a guy come up with a name like "Jet?" I thought it was Jeb, or Jed until I saw the credits.Recommend to any western lover and others too. Loved Bob Steele as a bad guy. He never worked for me as a good guy. I think it's certainly one of Derek's best and seeing a Young Slim Pickens on a horse at a gallop. Now that is cool.
ericlparker
I saw this movie on the Westerns Channel and didn't expect much from it. But I was pleasantly surprised as it was well directed, the staging was impressive, the script was thorough and had an intriguing plot. The exterior shots were gorgeous (wonderful country, might have been Wyoming but probably the back lot somewhere.) While only John Derek was truly handsome, the cast selection and action created by the supporting cast makes this movie worth watching. The only bad thing was, Bob Steele shot a man in the back. I was horrified, having seen so many of his movies where he was the good guy. A complete change of character for him. See it.
alexandre michel liberman (tmwest)
Republic, among other small studios in Hollywood was considered to be "Poverty Row", but they had a lot of talent working for them and "The Outcast" is one of their best productions. John Derek is Jet Cosgrave, a man who has been cheated out of his inheritance by his uncle Jim Davis, and lost his ranch. He contracts some gunfighters, whose leader is Bob Steele, in order to get it back. He flirts with Joan Evans, and she falls in love with him, but he is not sure about his feelings because he is also very impressed by his uncle's wife to be Catherine McLeod. Derek is excellent in his role, you don't really know up to the end if he is a good guy or not. William Witney made a lot of westerns and here is at his best, providing good action scenes, specially one where Derek jumps in the horse Steele is riding. Also there are many shootouts, some of them among cattle. It was great to see a young Slim Pickens, I remembered him very well as the old sheriff in Pat Garret and Billy the Kid. The color system used Trucolor is less expensive than Technicolor but the result is satisfactory. A film that did not age, great entertainment for those who like westerns
BrianG
A very good performance by a young John Derek, an outstanding performance by veteran Bob Steele, beautiful scenery stunningly photographed, and action-packed, razor-sharp direction by an old pro at the top of his form make this one of the best "B" westerns to come out of Republic Pictures, which specialized in them and did them better than any other studio did. Derek plays a young man who returns home after his father dies to claim the ranch that was stolen from him, and runs into more trouble than he bargained for. Steele, a major western star in the '30s and '40s, had aged out of leading man roles and settled into character parts, often playing--as he does here--a cold-blooded gunman (watch Humphrey Bogart's 1951 "The Enforcer" to see Steele as a hired killer par excellance). He was such a good actor that he was as effective in these roles as he was in his younger days as a cowboy hero. The cast is full of familiar western faces--Jim Davis, Ben Cooper, James Millican, Slim Pickens--and ace director William Witney uses them all to their best advantage. The blazing gun battles are expertly staged, and the film as a whole moves like lightning. All in all, an expertly made, thoroughly enjoyable little "B" western, more entertaining than many films that cost 50 times as much. Highly recommended.
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