1941's "Badlands Of Dakota" is a higher budgeted 'B' Western from Universal, with a fascinating cast. Top billed Robert Stack gives the least interesting performance (not really his fault), as Jim Holliday, freewheeling brother of tough saloon owner Bob Holliday (Broderick Crawford); when Bob finds that his girl back east (Ann Rutherford) has decided to marry Jim, he falls in with Deadwood villain Jack McCall (Lon Chaney), whose gang commits raids disguised as native Indians. Of greater interest are the supporting players, Richard Dix as Wild Bill Hickok, and especially Frances Farmer as Jane (minus the 'Calamity'), who carries a torch for Bob, and must play a part in his downfall. With Hugh Herbert, Andy Devine, and Fuzzy Knight, we have an abundance of comic relief, and future Frankenstein Monster Glenn Strange is among Chaney's gang. Broderick Crawford and Hugh Herbert were coming off the comic Poe "The Black Cat"; Chaney and Crawford would work together again in "North to the Klondike," "Not as a Stranger," and "Big House, U. S. A."; Richard Dix soon reunited with Chaney in "Eyes of the Underworld." But in this film, no one can steal the thunder from Frances Farmer, whose commanding presence and captivating beauty prove to have been unique and unforgettable.

Robert Stack (Jim) is the wimpy younger brother of Deadwood saloon owner Broderick Crawford (Bob) who sends him to bring Ann Rutherford (Anne) from another town so that Crawford can marry her. However, on the journey back to Deadwood, Stack and Rutherford fall in love and marry. Guess what - Crawford isn't too happy about this! Crawford plans his revenge and gets brother Stack elected Marshall of Deadwood while he joins up with the town's bad guys and takes part in a couple of robberies. At the end, we have an Indian attack on the town of Deadwood and the inevitable confrontation between the brothers.The quality of this film is poor and unfortunately, the story drags. It's not very interesting. Frances Farmer (Jane) and Richard Dix (Wild Bill Hickok) are wasted in this film. The emphasis should have been on these two characters and Crawford rather than the sickeningly bland relationship between Stack and Rutherford. The film picks up pace at the end with the Indian attack but it's too late to save the day. It's a shame because given the cast, the film promises more than it delivers, apart from the comedy characters who are always annoying. In particular Andy Devine's irritating voice - he sounds like he has got a frog permanently in his throat. CLEAR YOUR THROAT BEFORE TALKING. Don Barclay as the drunk is another low-point - please get him off the screen, he's not funny.The 2 leads in this film fail to excite the audience and this, coupled with the poor quality, results in your mind wandering off to more interesting places.

The plot is simple: It's based around 1876 in South Dakota and the Custer/Wild Bill Hickok events. Farmer plays Calamity Jane, although they never use the tag "Calamity" when speaking to or about her. One varied notice from other films, she's not in love with Wild Bill in this one but a saloon owner (Broderick Crawford) and then winds up killing him.This is a typical early day Western with lots of shootin', ridin', Indians, outlaws, and, of course, duo love interests which rival each other. It's a really good Western based upon that and comes even with some comedy (Andy Devine). It was well worth the money I paid to get it and I will certainly watch it again later.I won't speak about the historical points because, although there are a few of them (such as Wild Bill getting killed) they are not anywhere close to accurate.Rather, I bought the video because it had Francis Farmer in it. I'd never seen a movie with her until yesterday when I viewed two of them. I was most curious about this beautiful woman whose mother had her mutated.I gave this movie an 8 simply based upon Francis Farmer's acting in the movie. She was a great actress. I say that now based upon viewing two of her films this past week (Son of Fury). Criminals, like those who did what they did to this wonderful woman ought to be damned but time has taken them, as well as she, from our presence so we can. I notice she only made 15 films before they cut her brain. I would have loved to have seen more movies with her and, no doubt, had they not had their way, she would have made many more.

An interesting, fairly high-budget (at least by Universal standards) western, mixing historical characters like Will Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane in a fictional environment. The cast is uniformly excellent and fairly eclectic, including Broderick Crawford and Robert Stack as brothers (and there is quite a family resemblance--NOT), Lon Chaney Jr., comedy relief by Andy Devine and Hugh Herbert, a barbershop quartet (in fact, everything including the kitchen sink), but most importantly, a radiant Frances Farmer in an impressive characterization as Calamity Jane. More luminous than Jean Arthur, and more raucous and even vulnerable than Doris Day, this is easily Farmer's best performance from the last part of her career before her unfortunate arrest and institutionalization. The film seems to have been worked on by several writers, and veers back and forth between straight narrative and some obviously interpolated comedy bits and barbershop numbers. An enjoyable, if historically laughable, western from Hollywood's golden era. Farmer fans will be thrilled.