So much average

Sadly Over-hyped

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The unstated theme of this film is to dramatize the outlawry of William Quantrill(Brian Donlevy) in Kansas and western Missouri, primarily, and to suggest his influence on the subsequent criminal careers of Jesse and Frank James, the Younger Brothers and the Dalton gang, as an apparently cohesive buddy group within Quantrill's raiders. There is the initial conflict of purpose between Quantrill and Jesse(and the other members of Jesse's gang?). Jesse and friends joined Quantrill's band supposedly to take revenge on the lawless Red Legs(Northern bushwhackers) who victimized the James farm and that of neighbors who favored the South. But, Jesse soon discovered that, as reports claimed, Quantrill's raiders were primarily a brutal outlaw gang, who pillaged, burned and killed in the name of revenge for wrongs committed by the Red Legs and others. Only seldom were the victims of their attacks actual Red Legs. Jesse complains about this discrepancy and Quantrill falsely promises that he will mend his ways. As a result, Jesse threatens to quit, but doesn't see how his small friendship group can be very effective in accomplishing his purpose. Quantrill knows that he could not sustain the support of his group without plunder of 'ordinary folk', the burning and killing functioning as revenge for similar acts by Red Legs. Jesse gradually becomes hardened to Quantrill's ways.Kate(Marguerite Chapman), Quantrill's moll, has become disillusioned with Quantrill's methods, thus is attracted to Jesse(Audie Murphy)because of his seeming objection to Quantrill's brutal ways. However, gradually, Jesse accepts Quantrill's brutality and choice of victims. He unnecessarily kills Tate: Quantrill's 3rd in command, in a knife fight challenge. Then, he unnecessarily shoots dead the 2nd in command: Bill Anderson, in an altercation, making him now second to Quantrill. Kate periodically tries to convince Jesse to quit Quantrill, to no avail. At the end of the film, after Quantrill has died, when Jesse asks her to go with him, she begs out, foreseeing that Jesse and his gang will not likely quit their outlaw ways after the war is officially over.Hollywood film writers sometimes couldn't resist putting together icons of the old West or the Civil War in ways that had no or little historical basis. Thus, the team of the James brothers, the Younger brothers and Kit Dalton as a cohesive unit is a gross simplification of history. Even Jesse and Frank James sometimes went their own ways for a while. Another notorious example of this occurs in "Santa Fe Trail", where various future important generals in the Civil War were seen graduating in the same WestPoint class, and being assigned as a group to 'bloody' Kansas. Later, it becomes evident why this fiction was important in conveying the main point of the film(as I see it).There's plenty of 'action', beginning with the threatened lynching of Jesse's gang as suspected members of Quantrill's raiders(They weren't, yet). All the action involved in several raids on individual homesteads, as well as the massive raid on Lawrence, Kansas, in which the town was largely burned down. There's the knife fight between Jesse and Tate. Jesse gunned down several raiders, and here were several engagements with blue belly patrols. Most of the troops decide to desert after a series of costly skirmishes, and Quantrill's suggestion that they make a last stand until every man is dead. This is as sensible as his prophesy that the South could still win if Lee's army were transferred to west of the Mississippi. "Let the North win the battles. We'll win the war"(presumably by guerilla activity). Historically, his sizable 'army' did eventually split into several groups. In the film, only Jesse's friendship group remained loyal. In the film, Quantrill says he is heading to western KY to do some raiding. But, he never made it. Union troops surrounded his headquarters, first blinding him, then killing him when he walked out the front door with guns blazing, knowing that his time had come. Historically, he did go to KY, where he was ambushed by Union troops, a bullet in the back paralyzing him, with a lingering death....Various actors have played Quantrill in film. I rate Brian Donlevy as one of the best, aside from the fact that he was twice the age of the real Quantrill. He made a handsome oily villain in many a picture."Dark Command" is another film that features Quantrill, including the spectacular attack on Lawrence. It might be interesting to compare the two stagings of this event. See it in color at YouTube

Frank and Jesse James, along with the Younger brothers and their pal Kit Dalton join Colonel Quantrill's guerrillas in order to fight the Union, but soon realize they've joined an army of bloodthirsty murderers.This colorful studio B-picture is a decent enough showcase for war-hero Audie Murphy playing a teen-aged Jesse, as well as up-and-comers Tony Curtis and James Best, who aren't given enough to do.As William Quantrill, Brian Donlevey gives the film's most interesting performance, portraying the rebel leader as cold, calculated, and quite mundane, all at the same time! Murphy's strange attraction to and utter revulsion for him make up most of the film's conflict.One thing that disappoints though, is the throwaway nature of Scott Brady's character. Brady was always a pretty good character actor and a pretty mean heavy. Here, he leaves the picture way too early, long before the dramatic possibilities of his character are exhausted.Finally, during the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas, the manager of the bank being robbed by the James gang rushes at Murphy exclaiming, "You little sh...!" before being interrupted. Was he going to say what I thought he was going to say? Did the actor's ad-libbing almost go too far?

"Kansas Raiders" is supposed to be about Jesse James' early career when he purportedly rode with Quantrill's Raiders during the Civil War. Unfortunately, this film takes dramatic license to the extreme and is pure nonsense from start to finish. For openers, Audie Murphy, new to the acting profession at this point in his career, plays Jesse as a wide-eyed innocent humanitarian. Even Jesse James' most ardent supporters would be hard-pressed to place their hero in that category. As far as Murphy's wooden performance in this film, the less said the better. Historical accuracy takes a severe beating here as well. About the only thing factual about this movie is that, for a short while, Jesse and Frank and Cole Younger did fight as Confederate Guerrillas. Most well-researched history books, however, have those fellows riding around with "Bloody Bill" Anderson. In this movie, Bloody Bill (played by a young Scott Brady) is a psychopathic maniac who gets gunned down by Jesse himself. It seems that Jesse just couldn't stand for all that senseless killing and had to put an end to it. Brian Donlevy, who could play a rotten apple as well as anyone, has the thankless role of Quantrill. Besides being far too old for the part, he seems to have about as much enthusiasm for being in this film as he would shoveling snow during a blizzard. Lost in this travesty of a film are some up-and-coming actors who went on to bigger and better things including Tony Curtis, Dewey Martin, James Best, Richard Long and Richard Egan. Marguerite Chapman is also around as the love interest for Mr. Murphy, but that story line falls flat as a pancake.None of the actors here are at fault with this sham of a western. Hollywood Studios of the late 1940's and early 50's cranked out inexpensive and under-written films like this nearly on a weekly basis. Unfortunately for "Kansas Raiders", its cheap budget and bullet-riddled script stick out like a sore thumb to the detriment of all involved. Murphy did improve as an actor over time. For those unfamiliar with him, he was America's most decorated World War II soldier and already had a built-in audience when he decided to take up acting. Most film critics will agree that he was a far better soldier than an actor. I'm quite sure his German adversaries would second that opinion.

I caught this movie on AMC's Saturday Morning Western. AMC usually shows decent movies, but this one was awful. Definitely not one of Audie Murphy's best. I understand that Audie was not originally an actor, but his acting was wooden and virtually emotionless. You would think that after 5 movies under his belt Audie would have been better.The movie centers around Jesse James and his gang traveling to Kansas to join Quantrill and his raiders. Jesse wants to join the raiders, in part, in order to get revenge on the Yankee soldiers that destroyed his home, maimed his mother and hung his father. While on their way to find Quantrill the James/Younger gang are almost hanged as spies by the Red Legs, Union guerrillas. Once the gang finds Quantrill, they request to join.First, Jesse James is very naive. In fact he passes over naive and into very, very stupid. The gang arrives just in time for Quantrill to pass judgment on some prisoners. Quantrill has Union POWs shot as spies. Next Quantrill's henchmen shoot and kill a man whose wife and baby were gunned down in one of Quantrill's raids. Innocent people being shot? Why doesn't this bother Jesse James? The James/Youngers join the Raiders and go on their first raid. The Raiders proceed to butcher all the people in the town. Jesse is dismayed, but not too much as soon goes on another raid. On the second raid, Jesse only agrees to go when Quantrill promises that only soldiers would be attacked. What happened next? The Raiders kill more civilians. When will Jesse get at clue? The Raiders are chased off by the Union Army. Eventually, Quantrill is blinded in a gunfight and the gang escapes with Quantrill in tow. The gang eventually hides out in a burned out farmhouse. The gang pities Quantill now that he blind. But why? The man was a thief, scoundrel and killer in uniform. It was very hard for me to find any sympathy for Quantrill. But the idiots of the gang followed him to the end.Eventually the Union Army shows up at the farmhouse at night. There is a $10,000 reward for the kill or capture of Quantrill. The Union Army gives the gang until dawn to surrender Quantrill. Why? I would have just burned the farmhouse down. But the Union officer even says that he doesn't want the gang, only Quantrill. Jesse comes up with the idea for the gang to sneak out the back of the farmhouse. Why wasn't the farmhouse surrounded? When only Quantrill and Jesse remain, Quantrill orders Jesse to leave. But Jesse refuses to leave without Quantrill. Quantrill tricks Jesse and shoves him out the back door. Quantrill then stumbles his way out the front door into the waiting arms of the Union Army. Quantrill is shot down like the dog he is. Jesse and the gang get away and become legends.What bothers me is the ending narration that states the gang became great because of the association with Quantrill. How utterly stupid. Quantrill was an evil person and the gang continued to follow blindly. I was very happy when this trash was finally over.