The Lawless Breed

Many motion pictures work on two levels – the way they read and the way they look. This is especially true of B-movies in the 1950s, when the studios would buy any old pulp screenplay and allocate a minimal budget with recycled sets and costumes, and yet turn over total creative control to a seasoned and professional director who used to be a big shot. This was the situation with virtually every Raoul Walsh picture from this period. He'd long since had his day, and his bosses gave him little more than turkey-material to shoot, and yet he continued to imbue every picture with the intensity and romanticism that had always been his hallmark.

The Lawless Breed supposedly chronicles the career of real-life outlaw John Wesley Hardin. It announces itself as the result of "new research", and just as they used to say in Police Squad, only the facts have been changed. Hardin's two love interests, the names of people he killed, the number of children he had, not to mention his general character are all completely made up. Writers William Alland and Bernard Gordon have essentially invented a fictional character and given him Hardin's name. But the point of this is not to tell it as it really happened – this is a classic Western after all. The point is to give you a picture of the Old West and a typical Western hero as posterity has remembered them.

And this is what makes it the sort of project Walsh would really get his teeth into. For Walsh, there was romance and nostalgia in the open plain. Look at how he begins the picture with rather confined shots of the town, with foreground business and buildings bordering the frame. Then when we cut to Hardin's childhood we are hit with the beauty of the wide open spaces. As opposed to the yellows and browns of your average Technicolor horse opera, this is an abundantly green West, and Walsh seems to have worked closely with cinematographer Irving Glassberg and art directors Bernard Herzbrun and Richard Riedel to bring this tone to the fore. Green here represents freedom, hope and the good life, and it either covers the screen or retreats to a distant corner as appropriate, even worked in as a reminder during indoor scenes, such as the tree outside the window when he visits Jane by night. In his monochrome pictures Walsh would often use lighting to chart the hero's rise and fall (They Died with their Boots on (1941) is a good example), and here he uses colour to the same effect. The bold greens give a warm and homely feel to Hardin's cherished dream of a farm, and whenever he drifts away from that dream we turn to stark off-whites.

In the leading role Rock Hudson is a middling success. He's just too steady and self-assured to convince as the young, hot-headed outlaw. On the other hand, he develops very well into the older and wiser Hardin, and as he would later show in Giant (1956) his forte seems to have been playing middle-aged. As is typical in a Walsh Western, the rest of the cast are an appropriately motley bunch, with no shortage of dusty faces and grizzly whiskers. Even though their performances aren't exactly outstanding, John McIntire hits the right notes in his dual role as Hardin's father and uncle, and Julie Adams is tough and unglamorous enough to portray both the saloon lass she starts out as and country wife she becomes. Also worth a mention is a young Lee Van Cleef, in one of his numerous third-baddie-on-the-left appearances before he became a big star in Italy. Although Hugh O'Brien is ostensibly the leader of the Hanley clan, it's clear Van Cleef's menacing presence was being noticed, as he is given all the most threatening lines and bits of macho business.

There's no escaping the fact however that as written The Lawless Breed is a rather lacklustre affair. The dialogue throughout is either corny or simply dull. A set-piece like Hardin continuing to play cards after being given an hour to get out of town doesn't seem able to decide whether it is being played for tension or for laughs. And yet there is a precious handful of moments which Walsh has been able to stage with pure and compelling visuals, such as the confrontation with the Hanleys on a windswept street or the ageing hero's bittersweet return to his home and family, and these are absolutely stunning. And such is Walsh's devotion to the feel of the picture even the most boring of scenes looks nice and fits in with the tone of the whole piece. The story may be a poorly-written rough-shod ride over the truth, but in its imagery The Lawless Breed has a beauty that is engaging and sincere.

Episodic saga based on the autobiography of outlaw John Wesley Hardin , Rock Hudson , published after being released from jail in 1896, having served seventeen years of twenty five year sentence. Hardin was an American , Old West outlaw , gunslinger and controversial folk icon .Hardin's life of crime begins with a murder in self-defense that scales into further bloodshed and flights from the law. It deals with the particular relation to his overly religious father , a stiff Pastor splendidly played by John MacIntire and his love for his step-sister , the attractive Mary Castle .Out of prison Hardin hopes to have his biography edited in order to rehabilitate his tarnished memories . Along the way Hardin falls for a saloon girl , Julie Adams , marries her, and they have a son , with whom he has strong arguments when he fears will follow in his violent footsteps .

Decent Western about a known gunfighter, this Hardin's story is unique because it was written by the man himself. This extraordinary testament , now a collector's ítem , was published in Seguin Texas in 1896. Main cast gives acceptable acting as Rock Hudson , Julie London , Mary Castle and John McIntire in a double role. And prestigious secondaries as Lee Van Cleef , Dennis Weaver, Glenn Strange. The motion picture produced by William Alland was professionally directed by Raoul Walsh a great filmmaker who directed several films , many of them deemed classic movies . He made a lot of Westerns such as The King and 4 queens , The tall men ,Gun fury , Along the great divide, Sílver river, Distant drums,Pursued , Dark command, They died with the boots on , Big traíl and this one .

The picture is partíally based on facts.The real John Wesley (1853-1895) was a sadistic and a ruthless murderer who killed at least 43 people .From an early age , he often got himself into trouble with the law .Pursued by lawmen for most of his life he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder in 1877 , in Huntsville jail . In 1879 Hardin and other convicts were stopped while attempting to steal guns from thr prison armory and he made several attemts to escape . When he was sentenced he reclaimed to have killed 42 men but newspapers of the day attributed only 27 death to him .While in prison Hardin wrote a biased autobiography and studied law. During his prison term he was convict of another manslaughter for the early shooting an inmate and given two year sentence to be served concurrently with his unexpired 25 year sentence . He was released in 1894. In August 1895,Hardin was shot to death by John Selman, himself a notorious gunman and former outlaw.Selman was arrested for murder and stood trial , though he claimed self-defense.

An okay Western based loosely on fact. Viewers tuning in today are likely catching up with Hudson's first starring role, following several years in supporting parts. Now, when I think Western, I've got to admit Hudson doesn't spring first to mind. Nonetheless, whatever he lacks in frontier grit, he makes up for in energetic commitment. I also suspect that he and Adams are the best-looking twosome to appear in any oater, any time any place. In fact, Adams sports the sleekest array of supposed frontier fashion that I've seen.

The story itself is unexceptional and cheaply produced, never getting beyond LA area locations. Indeed, this may be the only Western where the indoors is more compelling to look at than the outdoors. The movie does come up with a bunch of up-and-coming supporting players, like Van Cleef, Weaver, Ansara—too bad they don't get more screen time. Then too, McIntire's unusual dual role, both with Old Testament beards, had me confused until I consulted IMDb. I expect there's a backstory to this duplicate casting.

Producer Alland went from here to producing some of the most entertaining sci-fi of the decade— e.g. It Came from Outer Space (1953), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). I'm just sorry he didn't insist here on sticking with the original ending (thanks, reviewer bkoganbing). A happy ending may have pleased audiences of the time, but the original would have been more memorable.

Lawless Breed, The (1953)

*** (out of 4)

Solid Western has John Wesley Hardin (Rock Hudson) walking out of prison and handing over a book with his life story in it. A publisher then reads the story, which starts as a young Hardin battles with his preacher father (John McIntire) and soon he's on his own and on the run from the law. If it's history you're after then you will want to stay away from this film as it turns the cold-blooded killer into a misunderstood, nice guy and the film even goes as far as to change a real-life ending (apparently test screenings didn't like the truth). With that said, if it's entertainment you're after then this here is a real gem as we get to see the young Hudson in his first top-billed performance. It was smart for Universal to surround him with some great character actors but to also put a veteran like Walsh on the film. We're dealt a pretty typical story in terms of Westerns but Walsh brings some nice style to the production and certainly keeps it moving a lot better than it deserves. One of the best moments in the film happens early on as Hardin is about to get in a shoot out with a large gust of wind blows dust all over the place making it hard to see what's going to happen. This was a wonderful little sequence as was the made up ending. What really keeps the film moving are some wonderful performances by the star-studded cast. Hudson is terrific in the lead role and you can view this and see why he would become a major star. The character has some dark moments, which the actor captures just fine but the sweet side is where Hudson really shines. He really does make this a complete character and makes Hardin someone to care for. Julie Adams plays the woman he eventually marries and does a nice job even though she doesn't have much to do. The Hanley family are the ones Hardin does battle with early on and we have Lee Van Cleef, Glenn Strange and Hugh O'Brian playing the brothers. McIntire, Forrest Lewis and Richard Garland also turn in fine performances. We even get a young Dennis Weaver in a small role. Once again, those who are wanting a history lesson are going to hate this film due to have many facts it twists and turns but either way, the movie is solid entertainment that has enough going for it to make it worth seeing.

The Lawless Breed is directed by Raoul Walsh and written by William Alland (story) and Bernard Gordon (screenplay). It stars Rock Hudson, Julie Adams, John McIntire, Mary Castle, Hugh O'Brian and Dennis Weaver. Music is supervised by Joseph Gershenson and cinematography by Irving Glassberg.

Story is based around the life of outlaw John Wesley Hardin (Hudson), itself adapted from his own memoirs. It finds Hardin released from jail and recounts his life outside of the law and his time on the run. It proclaims that Hardin was very much a victim of circumstance, his life spiralling out of control after killing a man in self defence.

OK, forget the proud boast from the makers that this is a true story, this is Hollywood and its best so take in the film as a piece of entertainment only. Where, in truth, it's rather good stuff for the Western fan to gorge on. A tacked on "happy ending" aside, this is mostly interesting narratively speaking, and as a production it is always easy on the eye. Hardin's time on the run throws up a number of scenes to pump the adrenalin, letting some fine stunt work come to the fore in the process. Be it escaping from "Texas Rangers" laid traps, or well constructed horse races (Hardin was a well renowned gambler), Raoul Walsh and his team work real hard to keep this out of B movie territory.

Shot in vivid Technicolor out of Andy Jauregui and Janss Conejo ranches in California (some exteriors also filmed at Vasquez Rocks), film always feels airy, something that's not exactly at one with what should be the claustrophobic feel of an outlaw constantly on the run and looking over his shoulder. There's also a big ask of the audience to accept that Hardin is pretty much indestructible, which is OK once or twice, but more?

However, the film is ultimately about entertainment and forgiving it its irritants is not hard to do. Character interactions always remain of interest, and cast are doing more than decent work. McIntire stands out in a dual role, Hudson is stoic and Adams beguiles with her beauty and sexuality. This is one of the better productions for bringing the radiant Adams to the attention of red blooded lusters. A better pair of legs in Westerns there is not, and in one scene she induces wolf whistles and heart palpitations in equal measure. With prolific Western scorer Gershenson providing easy listening and photographer Glassberg keeping the colours rich, The Lawless Breed rounds out as a better than average viewing experience for the Western buff. 7/10