The men are really posing for other men in this film, and right at the beginning of the film in glorious 50's colour a group of pretty boys are chewing the proverbial cud, and I could not help but think there was a glint in some of their eyes hoping for some other kind of action. Tony Curtis is there and for a heterosexual man he seemed to be just waiting for that camp role in ' Some Like It Hot. ' Jesse James is played by Audie Murphy who does not quite convince as the very young Jesse James but he acts reasonably well. There is also a very cute scene where he has his hair washed by his brother Frank James, and among the cast only Brian Donlevy as Quantrill the butcher raider brings the film into a more heteronormative atmosphere. Too old for the role ( Quantrill was in his twenties at the time ) a glimpse of Richard Egan on the sidelines shows he could have been a better choice. This is a boy's film to the hilt, and there is a sufficient amount of brutal killing to satisfy the most ardent frustrated male in the audience. These Westerns of the 1950's with their male glamour and unlikely clean and colourful clothing often ( perhaps knowing it ) show a certain ' Queer ' perspective of men, and the women that are there are often ignored, or just there to add to the scenery the audience expected. Marguerite Chapman in this film gives a bit of sullen romance to Audie Murphy, but nothing that makes the earth move. I almost forgot that the very sexy Scott Brady is Quantrill's sidekick, and he also adds to the ambiguity of this genre of cinema. A brief few years in cinematic history a large number of these ' fun ' male fantasies were alive and well before they fell into the dull pattern of trying to be serious. Well directed this film is well worth watching.
Review of Kansas Raiders
