Badman's Territory (1946)

INFORMATION FROM IMDb

Plot Summary
After some gun play with a posse, the James Gang head for Quinto in a section of land
which is not a part of America. Anyone there is beyond the law so the town is populated with outlaws.
Next to arrive is Sheriff Rowley, following his brother whom the Gang have brought in injured.
Rowley has no authority and gets on well enough with the James boys
but is soon involved in other local goings-on, including a move to vote for annexation with Oklahoma
which would allow the law well and truly in.
Written by Jeremy Perkins

Cast
Randolph Scott ... Mark Rowley
Ann Richards ... Henryetta Alcott
George 'Gabby' Hayes ... Coyote
Ray Collins ... Col. Farewell
James Warren ... John Rowley
Morgan Conway ... Marshal Bill Hampton
Virginia Sale ... Meg
John Halloran ... Hank McGee
Andrew Tombes ... Doc Grant
Richard Hale ... Ben Wade
Harry Holman ... Hodge
Chief Thundercloud ... Chief Tahlequah
Lawrence Tierney ... Jesse James
Tom Tyler ... Frank James
Steve Brodie ... Bob Dalton
Phil Warren ... Grat Dalton
William Moss ... Bill Dalton
Nestor Paiva ... Sam Bass
Isabel Jewell ... Belle Starr
and many more...

Directed
Tim Whelan

Writing Credits
Jack Natteford ... (original screenplay) and
Luci Ward ... (original screenplay)
Clarence Upson Young ... (additional sequences)
Bess Boyle ... (additional sequences) (as Bess Taffel)

Produced
Jack J. Gross ... executive producer
Nat Holt ... producer

Music
Roy Webb

Cinematography
Robert De Grasse ... director of photography (as Robert de Grasse)

Trivia
Ben Johnson appears uncredited as a member of Marshal Hampton's posse.
He even has a line or two of dialogue.
He and the marshal and another deputy dismount and enter a building on location.
In the next shot, the studio interior, Hampton and the deputy come through the door,
but not Ben, he has disappeared and is seen no more

Goofs
Character error
Hank McGee's name is entered in the horse race riding the Chestnut mare
he stole from Sheriff Rowley. Notice the spelling on the board is Magee.

Factual errors
Near the beginning of the movie when the outlaws are leaving Quinto for Texas,
the newspaper lady watches them leave and then turns to write a column.
The calendar on the wall shows the 1st on a Sunday and 31 days in the month.
This could be March of 1891 or December of 1889;
however, later in the movie the newspaper with the blank advertising block
is dated September 21, 1890. So, the wall calendar in the newspaper office is incorrect
(it's either the previous year - 1889- or the next year - 1891).

At the end of the movie a man states this is the end that Jesse James
had been shot by Bob Ford and Frank James had been captured.
While technically accurate, Jesse was killed over 10 years before the Coffeyville raid.
Jesse was killed on Apr. 3, 1882 and the Coffeyville raid took place on Oct. 6, 1892.

Jesse James is alive and active during this movie.
According to the dated newspaper, this story takes place in 1890 -
8 years after Jesse was shot by Mr. Howard.

Memorable Quotes

Filming Location
Agoura, California, USA

Badman's Territory is a 1946 American Western film starring Randolph Scott.
It was followed by the loose sequels
Return of the Bad Men (1948) and Best of the Badmen (1951).

Co-starring Duke 'Pal' George 'Gabby' Hayes, also look for an-credited Ben Johnson

User Review

Bloodthirsty U.S. Marshal
30 September 2006 | by bkoganbing (Buffalo, New York)

Quote from bko

Badman's Territory is a unique Randolph Scott film in that it has as its chief villain, a bloodthirsty United States Marshal in the person of Morgan Conway. Other than playing Dick Tracy this might be Mr. Conway's finest moment on screen.

Randolph Scott is a local sheriff who's aiding Conway in pursuit of the James gang. When they get away, each blames the other, but Conway shoots Scott's brother James Warren who then is taken by the James gang to the Oklahoma panhandle, better known as the Badman's Territory. It's that because it is unorganized with no established law and therefore a haven for the famous outlaws of the west.

They do flock there, everyone, the James gang, the Dalton gang, Belle Starr and Sam Bass. In real life none of these characters ever met, but this is Hollywood. Randy goes into the territory and finds all kinds of adventure and a little romance with Ann Richards.

Conway's portrayal anticipates what Kirk Douglas did on screen many years later in his acclaimed western Posse. Conway's a bloodthirsty man who's got big ambitions for that strip of territory. Some of his actions indicate a man on horseback and in the post World War II era that would have struck a resonating tone with the movie going public.

Of course it's outlaw Bruce Dern that brings Douglas down in Posse and in 1946 you had to have an honest sheriff in Randolph Scott do the deed. Still with Code restrictions in place, Badman's Territory is a good Randolph Scott western. And I'm sure made a few dollars for RKO back in the day.

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