Bad Lands

So the timing isn't really good here as I throw remake and reboot one after another out there, but timing isn't everything, is it?  After reviewing 1955's I Died a Thousand Times which was a remake of 1941's High Sierra, I stumbled across another movie that's a virtual scene-for-scene remake of a John Ford classic. Where the previous review at least had a decade in between releases, this one was quite a bit closer.  The Ford version is a 1934 flick called The Lost Patrol, and the remake came out just five years later with 1939's Bad Lands.

The Lost Patrol is an interesting film for a lot of reasons, mostly because for a movie released in 1934, it was far ahead of its time.  It was quick, hard-hitting and violent, not playing up to conventions of the war genre.  Above all else, it is different. A small patrol of Foreign Legion soldiers is trapped at a desert oasis and under siege by Bedouin riflemen (almost always unseen). 'Lands' isn't quite an exact remake mostly because the setting is transplanted from the African desert to the American southwest in the 1870s.  Other than the setting though, it's the same movie. Not as good overall, it is still interesting, but mostly as a comparison piece to the better The Lost Patrol.

Leading a posse for a murdering bandit, Apache Jack, Sheriff Bill Cummings (Robert Barrat) is riding at the head of nine men.  They have ridden into the desert after Apache Jack escaped from jail and murdered a Mexican woman. Tracking him, they hole up at a water hole high up the rocky hills. The posse finds a vein of silver though in the rocks, and they begin to think about who can get a claim in first. That night though, an Apache war party steals their horses, stranding them in the middle of desert with nowhere to go. Cummings and his posse have ample water, but the Apaches are gunning for them. Should they send for help, or sit tight and hope they can hold out long enough for some sort of help to arrive?

The rehash of the story isn't as sketchy as it seems mostly because both films came from RKO Studios. Neither movie could have cost much to make with the small cast and little need for any sort of background players, army of extras, or any sets at all other than the desert.  None of this rehash comes as a judgment because in the years since the premise has been used repeatedly, including a very violent Euro-western, Chato's Land.  It is simple, straightforward, and effective. Until the end, we never see more than one Apache, leaving the enemy as more of a presence than an actual scare.  The warriors are everywhere and nowhere at the same time, just waiting for their chance to strike.

Maybe because the cast isn't that well known, but filling out the sheriff's posse isn't as fun this time around as The Lost Patrol. The characters are still more genre archetypes (I think that's the word I'm looking for) than red-blooded characters, but come on, they're basically fodder for the Apache war party. Along with Barrat's Sheriff Cummings, there's Mulford (Douglas Walton), the inexperienced rider from NYC, Eaton (Robert Coote), an amiable Englishman, Chick (Noah Beery Jr.), an unlikable rabble-rouser, Billy Sweet (Guinn Williams), a happy go lucky cowboy, Henry (Andy Clyde) and Garth (Francis Ford, John's brother), two old-timer prospectors with some gay undertones, Rayburn (Addison Richards), a gunslinger gunning for the sheriff, Curly (Paul Hurst), a crotchety cowboy, and Lopez (Francis McDonald), a Mexican looking for revenge for the murder of his wife.

With a movie that barely breaks the 60-minute mark with a 70-minute running time, you would think there would be no time to waste.  Well, you would be wrong.  Before the ambush and siege at the water hole, there's about 10-15 minutes of the posse riding around. Then at the water hole, there are long scenes of dialogue as the posse discusses their lives, their fears, and generally their frustration at the predicament they're in.  Throw in the possibility of vast riches with the silver vein, and you've got a lot going on that is not always interesting.  The Apaches are a presence for a majority of the movie, finally revealing themselves at the end in one last shootout. The fear of an attack is genuine, but the censors and lack of any violence limit the potential. Most of the posse is killed off-screen, and besides, there are only a few characters that are actually likable.

Just like The Lost Patrol, I liked this movie. It's a good movie that could have been great with a few tweaks here and there.  The premise is simple, and that's the beauty of it.  The story is straightforward with no wasted subplots, the hope for survival driving and moving everything along. Shot in black and white with an impressive dark streak for a movie from 1939, there's a lot to offer. It just isn't great, and it could have been better. Still, a western The Lost Patrol isn't a bad thing.

Bad Lands (1939): ** 1/2 /****