Glenn Ford is Cheyenne Rogers, an outlaw who reaches the town of Red Valley a little too late to pull off the bank robbery he was hired to do.
Seems the town’s crooked banker and stable owner Willie McLeod got inpatient and hired local bandits to do the job.
Rogers isn’t disappointed for long. He takes one look at Willie’s daughter Allison (Evelyn Keyes) and decides Red Valley would be a great place to try to change his outlaw ways by adopting a new name.
Problem is, folks suspect him of pulling off the robbery anyway due in part to rumors spread by Jack Lester, the real outlaw.
So Rogers winds up in jail with partner Nitro Rankin, and judge Cameron is just itching to stretch their necks.
But Rogers also has two powerful allies in Sheriff Steve Upton (Randolph Scott) and Countess Maletta (Claire Trevor), who runs a fancy hotel and has known Cheyenne since they were young.
In fact, after Rogers escapes jail, town leaders throw Upton in, hoping to lure Cheyenne back to town by doing so.
Glenn Ford as Cheyenne Rogers, trying to go straight because of a girl in The Desperadoes (1943)
Randolph Scott as Sheriff Steve Upton, trying to keep an old friend out of trouble in The Desperadoes (1943)
Review:
Well done 1940s Western, with touches of humor tossed in for good measure, like a barkeeper who would love to head back East, if only he could keep people from wrecking his saloon.
Randolph Scott and Claire Trevor get top billing, but the real focus here is on the younger Glenn Ford and Evelyn Keyes, the latter of whom would become Mrs. Charles Vidor within a year.
Both Sheriff Upton and the “good bad man” Rogers fall for Keyes, a fact which keeps her dad up at night. But it’s Cheyenne who captures her heart, as bleak as the prospects look for a happy future with him.
While the plot plays out, the good folks of Red Valley are gathering a herd of 500 mustangs for sale to the army. A well-filmed stampede involving those mustangs plays a part in the climatic showdown.
Evelyn Keyes as Allison McLeod, fretting about Cheyenne Rogers again in The Desperadoes (1943)
Claire Trevor as Countess Maletta, the woman on the wrong side of the tracks in The Desperadoes (1943)
Directed by:
Charles Vidor
Cast:
Randolph Scott … Sheriff Steve Upton
Claire Trevor … Countess Maletta
Glenn Ford … Cheyenne Rogers
Evelyn Keyes … Allison McLeod
Edgar Buchanan … Uncle Willie McLeod
Raymond Walburn … Judge Cameron
Porter Hall … Banker Clanton
Guinn Williams … Nitro Rankin
Bernard Nedell … Jack Lester
Joan Woodbury … Sundown
Runtime: 87 min.
Guinn Williams as Nitro Rankin, Cheyenne’s unpredictable sidekick in The Desperadoes (1943)
Edgar Buchanan as Uncle Willie McLeod, Allison’s dad and a man with a secret in The Desperadoes (1943)
Memorable lines:
Allison McLeod, about the man who showed up with Sheriff Upton’s horse: “The way I remember him, he wouldn’t come out last in a gunfight. He seems awfully quick, Steve.”
Sheriff Steve Upton: “Have you ever seen how fast I can duck?”
Sheriff Steve Upton, after Allison McLeod bashes Cheyenne Rogers over the head with an empty bucket: “First time a woman ever finished a fight for me.”
Judge Cameron: “I wanna see a hangin’. Why a lawman ought to be out on the trail, not in a dance hall hoppin’ around like a frightened mountain goat.”
Uncle Willie, when Sheriff Upton reveals his bank robbery suspect: “Jack Lester? Well, he’s only a common rancher.”
Sheriff Steve Upton: “Uncommon, Willie. He’s got a ranch and he doesn’t run any livestock on it. And he’s got three hired hands to help him do nothing.”
Cheyenne Rogers, as he mounts a wild horse: “You’ll get used to a load on your back. Everybody does.”
Countess Maletta, to Nitro Rankin, who keeps nitro in his hotel room: “I ought to hit you. But I’m afraid you’d explode.”
Nitro Rankin, to his partner: “C’mon. Let’s hurry.”
Cheyenne Rogers, climbing on his horse: “What’s the hurry? We aren’t in any hurry.”
Nitro: “Yes, we are. I just robbed a bank.”
Countess Maletta to Allison McLeod: “You’re gonna have your heart busted up in so many pieces, you’ll have to carry it around in a sack.”
Townsman, waiting for outlaws to arrive in Red Valley: “Think they’ll come?”
Second townsman: “If they do, they’ll think they ran right into the middle of Custer’s Last Stand.”
Bernard Nedell as Jack Lester, an outlaw who breaks into an empty safe in The Desperadoes (1943)
Porter Hall as Clanton, a businessman trying to restore confidence in his bank in The Desperadoes (1943)
Raymond Walburn as Judge Cameron, a mayor hellbent on hanging someone in The Desperadoes (1943)
Evelyn Keyes as Allison McLeod, concerned as Cheyenne leads a stampede into town in The Desperadoes (1943)
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What a freakin’ gem! Just streamed this on Amazon based on your blog post. Hard to believe this is nearly 80 years old!
Very snappy and witty – and what a treat to see Glenn Ford at – if my calculations are right – around 27 years old. They did have long hair in the ’40s – they just combed it back – lol.
And, of course, you see even in his early roles what a great actor he is.
Again, it’s hard to believe this was filmed in the early ’40s. Amazing cinematography throughout and especially in a number of the horse riding – and stampeding – scenes.
Loved the dialogue as well. One of the great lines came in the stable scene near the end when the jig was up and Allison asks her father, “How do you feel?”
He answers: “Like my father felt before me. Ain’t much difference between fathers, honey.”
Holy %#%#! – the ancients always know a hell of a lot more than we ever give them credit for.