This is a well-cast, well-directed, tightly-scripted film (only 87 minutes). The cast is amazing for what had to be a fairly low budget RKO picture from the mid-1950's; Randolph Scott was an established star while Forrest Tucker, J. Carrol Naish, and Denver Pyle were all established, talented Western performers and Edgar Buchanan was one of the best Western character actors of all time. What hurts the movie severely and is its major flaw is the setting. Nothing about one single shot of the film looks anything like Southern Indiana or anywhere else in the Midwest, and exactly like California, where it was actually shot. This lack of authenticity is distracting, in some scenes more than others, but never completely destroys the fine performances. Like some of the others, I would like to know more about the historical Reno Brothers and how closely this film represents their true story; I'm sure that it's somewhat closer than Elvis' ''Love Me Tender'', which is about the same topic and came out the next year.
Review of Rage at Dawn
