Sangue selvaggio

Ralph Bellamy was a fine actor but most of his films consisted of him playing in supporting roles--and mostly playing the guy who loses the girl by the end of the film. In the case of "Wild Brian Kent", however, Bellamy gets a chance to play lead. And, while he does the best he can under the circumstances, it's a film that just isn't very good. With more leading roles like this, it's no wonder he was mostly a supporting actor.

The film begins with Bellamy behaving boorishly aboard a train. Apparently, although he's an expert polo player, he's also a first-class heel and has not only squandered his inheritance but squandered all his friendships as well. In fact, they are so tired of the guy that they put him off at a station in the middle of no where. There, Bellamy's character continues to behave like a selfish jerk until, inexplicably, he meets up with a family in need and he gives up his selfish ways. But is it too late? The film never seemed real to me and was a lot like a B-western--with an evil boss-man trying to steal the nice family's homestead. While it's not a terrible film, Bellamy's change of heart seemed difficult to explain and he wasn't particularly likable. In addition, the plot just seemed rather contrived and silly. Not horrible but probably not worth your time either.

Howard Hickman tells Ralph Bellamy that everyone at the polo club hates him. Bellamy signs a resignation and gets off the train in a small town without any cash, and eventually washes up at Helen Lowell's ranch, where she and niece Mae Clarke nurse him back to health. The ranch is in trouble, and the rail road refuses to shp their cattle to market until the ladies clear up their back bill. Bellamy goes into town to wire home for money, but he can't afford the call, so local businessman Stanley Andrews lends him the money, in return for Bellamy getting a 30-day note on the ranch and signing it over to him. Then he ships some of his anthrax-infected cattle with Miss Lowell's, meaning they can't be sold until after the note has been called. Bellamy keeps trying to help the ladies, but now they don't trust him.

It's what would come to be known as a 'shaky-A' western, with some notable stars on the downslide, a good story, competent direction by Howard Bretherton, and some exciting sequences, like a fire in a wheat field. Old-time silent film comic Jack Duffy has a key role, and while no one would mistake this for a major motion picture, it's definitely not your usual B western.