User Reviews

"Barricade" is most noteworthy for the villainous performance of Raymond Massey, who clearly relishes his role as a vile manipulator of men with no moral compass at all. Mr. Massey's "Boss Kruger" lures wanted men (that is, wanted by the law) into his private hell-hole in the middle of the desert, with promises of good wages to do some mining work, and keeps them there as virtual slaves and prisoners.

Though a true B- western, this film features a script that is fast-moving, and not completely predictable. There is a brief Shakespeare-quoting duel, for example. And, rather unusually, Massey keeps a painting of England's King Richard III, who he idolizes, in his office.

A couple of other noteworthy oddities: In hindsight, there is not single character in this film who we can truly sympathize with, not a hero of any kind. Even Dane Clark, as the nominal protagonist, though likable, is not a text-book Western hero. Weirder still is that the cast features, not 1, but 2 jockey-sized actors (that is to say, slightly freakishly undersized), as members of Massey's dysfunctional workforce. One plays the drunken pastor cum judge, and the other a sleazy turncoat with a slightly theatrical manner.

Ruth Roman is achingly gorgeous throughout; yet, in another oddity, the director and producer clearly made a decision to have not one bit of sexual suggestion in the movie. Though she is the only female in an isolated nest of male vipers, not one makes a lavicious play for her. Very interesting, very different.

If you like Westerns, then you can do worse than this. Keep your eyes on Massey and Roman, and you will be reasonably entertained for the little more than an hour it takes to watch this one.

This is in fact an unusual Western for its time, or for that matter, any other. I have to give the makers high marks for original thinking and a certain audacity for transplanting the 1941 film version of Jack London's famous story from its original salty environs to the bleak Southwestern desert, in this often scene-for-scene remake.

Instead of a seal-hunting ship crewed by the scum of the sea, this time the action takes place at a mine worked by outcasts and fugitives from the law, kept in line by the brutal discipline of the owner, thoroughly detestable "Boss" Kruger (Raymond Massey) and his henchmen. All the characters from the 1941 movie are here, with minor changes, even down to the disgraced alcoholic judge who fills the same role as the ship's doctor in the previous film.

There are some worthwhile things about this version, including the Technicolor desert scenery and performances which range from at least adequate to quite good. But any viewer who's familiar with 1941's "The Sea Wolf" will find themselves making unfavorable comparisons. The director, while certainly competent, is no Michael Curtiz, and Dane Clark and Raymond Massey -- although fine actors in their own right -- just aren't a John Garfield and Edward G. Robinson. Clark lacks Garfield's raw presence,and Massey never displayed the kind of edge Robinson could bring to a dramatic role.

However, Ruth Roman is a fairly passable substitute for Ida Lupino. Robert Douglas ("The Fountainhead", "King Richard and the Crusaders", "The Prisoner of Zenda") gets a rare break from his typical personification of a slimy, aristocratic villain when he recreates Alexander Knox's character from the 1941 film, but the script never allows him to develop the more complex relationship with Kruger that his counterpart had with "Wolf" Larsen.

Which I think gets to the heart of what went wrong here: Despite its 77-minute running time, "Barricade" is nonetheless rather slow-paced and talky for a Western. But compared to "The Sea Wolf" -- which clocked in at 90 minutes, not a one of them wasted -- the characters aren't given enough time to become fully fleshed-out. Particularly Kruger, who as a petty Lucifer ruling his own private Hell should have a certain shabby yet tragic magnificence to counterpoint his ruthless thuggery.

I still recommend "Barricade" as worth a viewing, even if this abbreviated remake doesn't quite measure up to the original.

Loosely based on jack london's story sea wolf, another man versus nature... or in this case... man versus large figure in charge. When judith (ruth roman) and her new friend milburn (robert douglas) show up at a gold miner's camp , the foreman (ray massey, in a rare, regular guy role! ) gives them temporary work. But things are a bit off ... everyone is afraid of the foreman, who runs a tight ship, and things go off the rails fast. When a crooked judge dies, they realize they can't go along with the way things are in town. The corrupt foreman is a viscious killer and doesn't care who gets in the way. Then nature intervenes. Like it always does in a london or hemingway story. Directed by peter godfrey, for warner brothers. Filmed at vasquez rocks and griffith park. It's pretty good. Not sure what the lesson is, but nature always seems to play a role.

Jack London's Sea Wolf (1941) is remade here into an undistinguished oater. Nonetheless, Massey is effective as the tyrannical mine boss, loudly lording it over his hapless men in a role tailor made for the actor's powerful presence. A rather subdued Dane Clark, however, is again playing second fiddle to John Garfield in a role Garfield had in the much more expensive original. But, pity a poor well-scrubbed Ruth Roman who looks utterly lost in an ill-defined eye-candy role.

What's notable in this remake is the absence of an intellectual counterweight to the tyrant's Nietzschean view of humankind. What there is in this version is divided between the sometimes philosophical comments of Milburn (Douglas) plus those of the Judge (Farley). In the original, it was actor Alexander Knox who went toe to toe with the tyrannical Edward G. Robinson. Likely, the producers figured a sagebrush opera was not the place for intellectual debate, which nonetheless sparked the original.

Speaking of the production, it does a good job of making a budget effort appear bigger than it is. Despite appearances, the production never leaves greater LA, making good use of Vasquez Rocks and Bronson Canyon.Then there's that wagon crash that's no stock footage and a real stunner. Still and all, the drama never really gels, while the script and direction remain lackluster, at best. And considering the Jack London roots, that's a genuine disappointment.

An anti tyranny allegory from a Jack London novel by way of Bill Sackheim and all wrapped up in a western. Don't know 'bout you but that's not how I like my political allegories. Or my westerns, come to think of it. Makes for some heavy, stiff passages with lots of Shakespeare quoting, Wise Sayings ("Some men can't live without integrity") and cardboard characters who are either pure or pure evil. Still, there are a couple things that elevate this film a bit above the mediocrity line, chief among them Raymond Massey's fine performance as a power mad, sadistic psycho, kind of a combination Macbeth and Hitler (he's given a German last name). Indeed, Massey is such a good bad guy that I'm surprised he didn't do more of these villainous turns instead of the faintly dull Doc Gillespie/Abe Lincoln stuff. Give it a generous C plus, mostly for Massie.

Bob Peters (Dane Clark) is hiding from the law. He would rather keep moving but he's offered a job with mining Boss Kruger (Raymond Massey). He finds the job worst than expected and Kruger a ruthless tyrant. Escaped prisoner Judith Burns (Ruth Roman) arrives in town and makes a run for it on a runaway stage coach. She crashes and recuperates at the mine.

This is apparently adapted from the Jack London novel "The Sea Wolf". This is an interesting western. Raymond Massey is a great actor although I would like him to be scarier. It's interesting to take the point of view from folks on the run from the law. There are some fair action and some less impressive action. It's interesting.

Jack London's The Sea Wolf does not stand the voyage to the American west all that well in Barricade. Raymond Massey is in the lead and is no longer a sea captain but a mine owner and one cruel and sadistic man in the tradition of Wolf Larsen. Out in the middle of the desert no one is any more in a position to leave than they would be if they were on a ship at sea.

The themes that London tells in his story are just so watered down in this version. The players do well, but the watered down themes also water down the performances. Raymond Massey would have made a great Wolf Larsen in a straight version of The Sea Wolf, too bad he's stuck here.

The biggest change is to the roles that John Garfield and Ida Lupino played in The Sea Wolf. The two runaways from the criminal justice system would not remotely contemplate what they say they will do in Barricade. Robert Douglas for once is a good guy in the part that Alexander Knox did in The Sea Wolf. But as a lawyer instead of an existential writer again the part loses something.

What Barricade is in the end is a great action western and those who like action westerns will like Barricade. But if you are expecting Jack London, Jack didn't make the trip west.

Off Center, Obscure B-Western with Intelligent Intricacies Not usually Found in the Glut of Westerns before Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher got Hold of the Reins. It is Full of Wordy and Philosophical Exchanges among a Cast of severely Flawed Characters.

The Evil Personified Raymond Massey, Brutal, Tyrannical, and Sadistic Oversees a Man Made Hell of a Mining Camp and Spouts Things like if He Meets the Devil, They will Get Along just Fine.

Dane Clark is the Closest thing to a Hero but is On the Run from the Law, as is Ruth Roman, the Only Female Character that spends Half the Film on Her Back (due to a violent stagecoach crash).

There is an Alcoholic Bible-Thumping Judge, and an Undersized Motor Mouth that clearly has a lot of Issues. Robert Douglas as Massey's Counterpart, a Lawyer that is also Hobbled from the Crash and Matches Wits with the Dictatorial Massey is Comfortably Contrasted.

Also, surprisingly, the Movie is Filmed in Color and that is really the only Bright Thing in this Cynical, Under-Seen, little Gem. Dark with a High-Brow Script, the major Disappointment is the Gunfight Finale that Cuts away in Midstream and almost Looks like They just ran Out of Money (it is absurdly abrupt).

Overall, a Western that has been Ignored and Forgotten but it really is Something Special, Different, and a Refreshing Cerebral Change from Genre Tropes, Especially Early in 1950.

This movie seems to have fallen through the cracks, in the sense that, of all the conventional westerns made around that time, this isn't one of them, and nobody seems to have found anything much to say about it.

It's supposedly a remake of "The Sea Wolf" (I haven't seen that) from the same source novel by Jack London.

A fairly evil joker (played by Raymond Massey) runs a gold mine like it's the prison work camp from "Cool Hand Luke". But there's no slow-burning, cool-talkin' anti-heroes here - Massey is the most dynamic character in the film, most of the men in his charge are a dim mob, and everybody is flawed in one way or another.

One man comes to town looking like the hero, but he's on the run from prison, not notably moral or likeable, and he gets beaten to a pulp by either the major heel, or the minor ones, on a regular basis throughout the picture.

There's a disgraced former judge who Massey keeps around apparently for personal amusement, who talks of faith and morals, but is a slave to the bottle.

And there's a well-spoken nosey gent, who also talks a good game but has a bad leg, and is even victimised by the comedy relief. The comedy relief, by the way, isn't funny, but is one of the more memorably slimy characterisations to turn up in a Western before the spaghetti westerns of a later period. Even the female love interest is on the run from prison.

Weird movie, due to the unusual perspective in which the most hateful character in the flick is also presented as clearly the most interesting, dynamic, and in some ways, admirable character.

"Barricade" is probably worth more attention than it's had, for all its flaws, including some weak acting among the featured characters, and some of the more memorably lousy fight scenes in Hollywood history.

Never really heard of director Peter Godfrey before, and his CV doesn't really include anything that would pointer you towards this, let alone what to expect out of "Barricade". If it comes up on TV, and you're not violently allergic to westerns, you might want to give it a look.

"Barricade" is an unusual remake of "The Sea Wolf". Why? Because it's set in the desert in the old west! Despite the change of scenery and a few plot changes, the film manages to keep the spirit of the novel and entertain.

Bob Peters (Dane Clark) is a man on the run from the law. Oddly, this makes him an attractive prospective employee for Boss Kruger (Raymond Massey), a guy who seems to love hiring folks with a dirty past. Now this isn't because he wants to form a criminal gang nor is he a big fan of rehabilitation. Instead, he likes having something to hold over his employees' heads...so if they don't do exactly as he demands he can turn them over to the Sheriff or sic the other workers on him! To put it succinctly, the Boss is a sadist...and he often toys with his workers like a spider toying with its prey! What's in store for Bob and the rest? See the film.

This is a very tough western...much meaner and tougher than most. There are no pretty boys, folks singing nor the usual formulas you see in such pictures. Instead, it's more a character study of evil...and because of that, it makes for an exciting and well acted film.