Kansas Raiders (1950)

Kansas Raiders (Dir: Ray Enright, 1950).

A lively western adventure, set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. 

This star vehicle for Universal contract player Audie Murphy, is a highly fictionalised account of the early career of the outlaw Jesse James. Here such historical figures as young Jesse (Audie Murphy) and his brother Frank (Richard Long) team up with Kit Dalton (Tony Curtis) and the Younger brothers under the tutelage of Confederate guerrilla Colonel William Quantrill (Brian Donlevy), in a kinda outlaw equivalent of Avenger Assemble (Josh Whedon, 2012).

Murphy seems much more at ease here than in some of his early pictures and gives a convincing performance at the young Jesse. He is ably supported by co-stars Brian Donlevy and a pre-stardom Tony Curtis. All credit goes to the cast for give better performances than this otherwise underwhelming movie deserves.   

With its fair share of shoot-ups and some surprisingly violent raids, Kansas Raiders is not lacking in action, yet little in the movie rings true. It certainly isn’t awful but, ultimately, there are too many plot holes and conveniences in the narrative for it to be entirely believable.  Another problem from an audience perspective is the difficulty in sympathising with a protagonist who is a villain. Even when he appears to have a crisis of conscious, history, or rather legend, tells us it will only be temporary and he will go on to become a notorious outlaw. The movie also suffers from an uneven tone, at times treating its subject with more levity than it does good taste. An overall more gritty approach would certainly have suited the story better. On the positive side, the somewhat backlot bound production is enlivened by some gorgeous Technicolor.

Oddly reminiscent of the juvenile delinquent flicks of the mid-1950s,  Kansas Raiders could be seen as western precursor of those. As such, it was probably enjoyed most by younger patrons of matinees. 70 years later, it doesn’t really cut it as history lesson or action movie. It is worth a watch for Audie Murphy’s performance but, outside of Murphy fans and vintage western aficionados, its appeal is limited.