User Reviews

"Bad Men of Tombstone" is a little known black and white western from the late 40s, unusual in that there is no hero.

Tom Horn (Barry Sullivan) wanders into Leadville looking for a quick buck at the poker table. He loses his money and horse to the crooked dealer which forces him to rob the local assay office. He is quickly arrested and thrown into jail with Morgan (Broderick Crawford) the leader of a gang of outlaws. When Morgan's gang of Mingo (Fortunio Bobanova), Red Fisk (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) and Curley (John Kellogg) break him out of jail, Horn manages to convince Morgan to take him along.

Untrusted by Mingo, Horn nonetheless gains the confidence of Morgan and the gang embarks on a series of robberies and killings. Along the way Horn meets the lovely Julie (Marjorie Reynolds) and the two marry much to the dismay of Morgan. Then Horn masterminds the robbery of a gold shipment and the gang becomes hunted. They hold up in the lawless town of Tombstone and plan one last big job offered by two mysterious cattlemen, "Smith" (Dennis Hoey) and "Jones" (Morris Ankrum) but then.....................................................

Broderick Crawford had been around since the early forties and was about to hit the big time with "All the King's Men" (1949) for which he won an Academy Award and "Born Yesterday" (1950). Barry Sullivan was always a dependable second tier leading man who had a long career but never quite made it to the "A" list. The same could be said of Marjorie Reynolds, a popular actress of the period. And then there's Guinn "Big Boy" Williams who appeared in countless westerns from the 30s to the 60s either as the comedy relief sidekick or sometimes as a bad guy gang member.

Not a great western but an entertaining one nonetheless.

A fast paced film with some nice dialogue and good scenes. Broderick Crawford is very good as always. Solid direction by Kurt Neumann. The problem lies in Barry Sullivan's (the lead) characterization.

***SPOILERS*** Tom Horn (Sullivan) goes from a drifter to a stone cold killer - as bad or worse than the rest of his gang. It's impossible to feel an ounce of sympathy for him. Julie (Marjorie Reynolds) softens as the film progresses and although it's a bit unbelievable...it would have worked with Tom's character. Even better would have been if he was a less reluctant killer from the get go. The upbeat score in the final scene tries to lead you to believe he's going to get away with it, but as a viewer you know it's impossible. It's a bit silly.

Famous movie Western towns like Leadville and Tombstone among the setting for this psychological western where amorality, not heroism, is the lead, and even the female witness to the payroll robbery has questionable moments as well. The film stars Barry Sullivan and Broderick Crawford, along with Marjorie Reynolds, as members of a gang who team together out of the blue, and find that loyalty isn't guaranteed.

Broderick Crawford shows his motivation when he hides the gold from the gang, saying that the hidden gold will guarantee that his men will see to it that he remains unharmed, and indeed he means it. Sullivan first encounters Reynolds when he robs the payroll and she instantly recognizes the crest on his duffel bag and remembers his eyes.

When they meet in public and he flirts with her knowingly, it becomes very apparent that she has no intention of turning him in because of her own desire to get something out of him. Romance does happen and they marry, but it's obvious that till death do they part will be sooner rather than later.

Just because there's claims of friendship between Crawford's Morgan and Sullivan's Tom Horn doesn't mean it's real or life lasting. Horn, a real life anti-hero, gets one of several screen portrayals, with more legend probably than fact, yet one thing is clear from the truths written about him, that he was no hero, and fortunately isn't presented as one here.