Branded (1950) User Reviews (21)

Thanks to a strong story and some enthusiastic performances, "Branded" remains as one of Alan Ladd's top westerns

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 7/10 · 26 October 2008]

The opening scenes set the tone of the film… Ladd, an itinerant gunman known simply as Choya and with the aid of a tattooed birthmark, passes himself off as the lost son and is accepted wholeheartedly by the parents (Bickford and Royle) and Ruth (Freeman), the man's sister…

Ruth had responded to his arrival on the ranch as any pretty woman would respond to a mysterious, handsome stranger, but she rapidly sets right to the fact that he is a relative…

As soon as he is welcomed as Richard Jr, however, something happens to Choya… As a member of a loving family, Choya experiences feelings denied him by his own childhood and became increasingly sickened by his contribution in the tricking…

Leading a cattle drive to El Paso, Choya decides to give up his charade revealing his true identity to Ruth, who turns on him with consternation and antagonism… There remains only one way to redeem himself and make up for the distressing emotion he has caused the Lavery family: To find their real son…

All the elements in "Branded" are taken directly from the straight-shooting school of Western movies… Choya, despite his confession to Ruth that he is a "four-flushin' thief," is true-blue outlaw hero… The smart Leffingwell has him classified correctly: "You won't hit an older man. You ain't the kind that'll draw first, or shoot a man in the back." Even with the rules thus outlined, Ladd still has a chance to present his standard beguiling bad guy early in the film, merely holding back a victorious smile as he pretends confusion over the elder Lavery's excited reaction to his birthmark…

Besides its other values, "Branded" is a visual delight… In fact, the movie's one drawback as a Western entertainment is a lack of big action highlights

A gunslinger called Choya/Alan Ladd impersonates the son of wealthy rancher/Charles Bickford with unexpected results

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 9 September 2013]

This horse-opera is an excellent , meaty Western ; it contains interesting plot , intrigue , thrills , shootouts and results to be quite entertaining . A gunfighter (Alan Ladd) named Choya (as someone obligingly explains Choya is Spanish for cactus) along with a swindler (Robert Keith) take part in a scheme to bilk a rich cattle family (formed by father , Charles Bickford , mother, and daughter , the feisty Mona Freeman) out of half a million dollars by pretending to be their son, who was kidnapped as child . As tough Choya (in fact, when asked if he has some friends he answers : ¨My guns¨) impersonates the long-gone son of wealthy rancher .

The picture gets action Western , shootouts , a familiar drama and is entertaining and well realized . A fairly gripping film ,being probably one of the best Western in the fifties , including frenetic action up and down . Nicely balanced thrills , intrigue , drama and a love story . The highlights of the film in the course of action are the climatic shoot'em ups , thrilling pursuits and violent fights . The traditional story as well as complex screenplay was rightly written by Sydney Boehm based on a novel by Max Brand . The enjoyable tale is enhanced for interesting moments developed among main characters and especially on the relationship between Alan Ladd, pre-Shane, and Mona Freeman , the prettiest of heroines who even played a 60 minute broadcasting radio adaptation of the movie reprising her film role . Magnificently performed by Alan Ladd who proves to be as two-fisted as his name ,Choya, and an old veteran Charles Bickford , they are awesome experts in the art of conjuring sensational acting , here are reunited in this atypical but thought-provoking western with a lot of reflection , distinguished moments and dramatical attitudes , in addition a multitude of entertaining situations . Most of the fun in this one is picking out the locations and identifying stock performers , as there appears several secondaries such as Robert Keith , Peter Hansen , Milburn Stone and veteran actors as Joseph Calleia and Tom Tully giving the stars solid supports . Glamorous as well picturesque cinematography in shinning colour by means of Technicolor ; it is superbly caught by cameraman Charles Lang , though being necessary a correct remastering . Shot on location in Portal, Globe, Salt River Canyon,San Simon,Douglas, Arizona, USA Kanab Canyon, Kanab, Utah, and valley of Rio Grande . Thrilling as well as lively musical score by Roy Webb.

This is another superbly powerful Paramount Western being compellingly directed by Rudolph Mate . He was an expert cameraman and director of the classic D.O.A and filmmaking occasionally for cinema all kind of genres . Polish-born Mate was an assistant cameraman for Alexander Korda and later worked throughout Europe with noted cameraman Karl Freund , director Carl Theodor Dreyer and Erich Pommer . Dreyer was so impressed with his work that they hired him as cinematographer on The Passion of Joan of Arc . Mate was soon working on some of Europe's most prestigious films, cementing his reputation as one of the continent's premier cinematographers. Hollywood came calling in 1935, and Mate shot films there for the next 12 years before turning to directing in 1947. Unfortunately, while many of his directorial efforts were visually impressive ,especially his sci-fi When the worlds collide (1951) , his labour as cameraman was excellent . He realized a variety films of all kind of genres as Adventures : The Black Shield of Falworth , Seven Seas to Calais , Western : Three Violent People , The far horizons , Noir films : Union Station , Second chance .He also directed Epic films as The Barbarians and The 300 Espartans . The films themselves were for the most part undistinguished, with his best work probably being the film-noir classic DOA (1950). ¨Branded¨ rating : Better than average , 7. This is a fair stuff for Alan Ladd fans and Western buffs . Well worth watching .

A solid Western--one of Alan Ladd's best

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 22 June 2009]

Too seldom do I find a Western that I really like. That's because almost every film in the genre seems to consist of only about 5 or 10 plots (or less). All too often, the films are about greedy guys trying to chase good people off their land, a gunman who just needs killing, or something similar. That's why when I see something different I am excited--and this film, fortunately, has a lot to offer that is different and worth seeing.

The film begins with a dirt-bag (Robert Keith) recruiting gunman Alan Ladd for a big score. However, it's not the typical bank or train robbery or mercenary killing you'd expect. Instead, Keith knows about a rich but sad family that has been pining for their lost son for decades--a lost son who is about the same age and look as Ladd. THe kid was kidnapped and then assumed murdered when he was quite young. Ladd will pretend to be the boy and the only thing missing is a birthmark--and that is soon added by giving Ladd a tattoo that looks identical. All Ladd now has to do is go to this huge ranch and "claim his natural birthright".

Well, things work out very well. Ladd "accidentally" lets this rich rancher see the birthmark and he is welcomed back as their long-lost boy. The problem is that although Ladd is a hothead with a checkered past, he's too decent to keep up the ruse--though Keith is now angry enough to eat hornets because he was counting on this big payoff. Despite threats from Keith, Ladd leaves the ranch and goes in search of who might actually be the boy all grown up and unaware of his past. It's dangerous, though, as Keith AND the bandit who raised the boy aren't about to let Ladd take this guy back to his real parents. Will Ladd and the young man make it out alive or will they be pushing up the daisies? See for yourself and find out what happens next.

The film was the first directorial effort of cinematographer Rudolph Maté and it shows. No, I don't mean the direction was bad but that the film had a really nice look--a nice bigger than life look of the great outdoors. You could tell that Maté really had "the eye" when he made this film.

Apart from an excellent script and direction, the film has pretty good acting as well. Ladd is a little better than usual and he's got excellent support from Keith, Charles Bickford and Joseph Calleia. Everything together made for a very good film.

By the way, the excellent character actor Robert Keith has a particularly gritty supporting role---real gritty. I have always enjoyed him in films and he plays one of the meanest and nastiest characters I've ever seen him play. It's a nice change of pace for a very good but under-appreciated actor and the scene with his partner on horseback near the beginning of the film is priceless.

Melodrama meets western.

[dbdumonteil · 22 January 2002]

The imposter topic is very rare in a western:we often find it in a classic detective film like "no man of her own"(1950) and its French mediocre remake "I married a shadow" (1982).Except for the short prologue ,first half looks like a psychological suspense.Second part is more eventful,although not at the expense of Alan Ladd character's frames of mind.

The hero actually is in need of a family;we know it from the start,Alan Ladd's wistful face tells it all.Love interest-which might be some kind of faux incest-is not as convincing as the hero's searching for haven ;it's a pity that the mother's character is not more present because she is,more than Mona Freeman's one,the keystone of the story.

Also a work of redemption ,because Ladd will try to redeem himself ,and a plea for peace and understanding,proof positive that a western does not need a violent showdown to be successful.The Rio Grande becomes a beautiful symbol,as human as political,and the scene when the Father takes in the two men on its banks has a biblical grandeur.

Rudolph Mate shows here that a B western can sometimes be deeper than so-called" A grade" classic ones.

A very good western

[sirjasonwright · 7/10 · 30 April 2006]

A fine western that was better than I expected It to be.Alan Ladd, although sometimes wooden puts In a good performance here. The cinematography and the colour process of this movie are outstanding. This western has a few good plot twists to make It stand out.The location scenery Is stunning too. Alan Ladd has something of a mystery persona here not unlike his role In Shane. The colours In this movie are very vivid and lifelike not at all garish as I thought they might be. This western has good support acting too, Charles Bickford plays his part with ruthless relish ala Big country. Robert Keith Is a shady slime ball who's demise In the film Is very fitting. This Is an out and out satisfying western and one I can thoroughly recommend.

Rio Grande rescue mission

[NewEnglandPat · 7/10 · 21 April 2003]

One of Alan Ladd's lesser-known westerns is this adventure of a scheming outlaw with a conscience who sets out to solve the mystery of a lost son and return him to his parents. Of course, the mission is fraught with danger, from a partner and assorted crooks. After getting to know the missing lad's family, Choya's change of heart takes across the Rio Grande where the boy is being raised by a tough, mean outlaw who aims to keep the boy, using gun play if necessary to get his point across. The picture is helped by great scenery and several scenes show a realistic slice of ranch life and cattle drives. Ladd gets a great boost from Robert Keith, Charles Bickford and Joseph Calleia, and Mona Freeman, always tough and spirited, is pretty as she takes a fancy to the dashing outlaw who would be her brother.

A Successful Deception

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 11 September 2019]

This film begins with a gunslinger by the name of "Choya" (Alan Ladd) escaping from some men who intend to lynch him for killing a friend of theirs in a gunfight. Although he manages to escape two bystanders by the names of "T. Jefferson Leffingwell" (Robert Keith) and "Tattoo" (John Berkes) find him camping in a cave and offer him a certain proposition. Essentially, they tell him of a young boy who was kidnapped from a wealthy family 30 years ago and since he fits the general description they ask him to ride to this ranch owner and claim to be his missing son. To help with the impersonation he is given a tattoo on his right arm which resembles a birthmark that the young child had. However, what he doesn't expect is the outpouring of love given to him by this family when he successfully deceives them-and this begins to gnaw on his conscience from that point on. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, although it started off rather slow, it developed rather nicely after that and kept my attention all the way until the end. Admittedly, there were some parts toward the end which could have been condensed a little but it was still a pretty good western all the same and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Gratifying Western worth seeing

[drystyx · 7/10 · 16 April 2012]

Some have said it's too bad Ladd made "Shane", because it overshadowed this great piece. I'd like to think there's room for both great Westerns to fill the honor roll of classic Westerns.

Ladd plays a gunman named Choya. He's probably a lot like Shane, only perhaps a month before Shane becomes the character we see in his film.

He's recruited by an older man to pretend to be the son of a wealthy rancher, a son who was kidnapped at the age of five.

Many revelations come about during the movie, and most of them very early. The new partner of Choya (Ladd) quickly shows himself to be the last person you'd want near you, a true monster. Yet he's a very believable monster. The first death scene, which is a murder committed by this man, may be one of the best Hollywood stunt scenes ever done. It's worth watching all on its own. Too bad we never see the victim again, as he is a character we could truly like, which makes the act even more deplorable.

The dramatics and action that unfold are rugged "tough guy" Western traditions united with very believable motivations. This is a great script, and it is superbly directed, which also means the acting is superb.

I won't spoil the film any more. It is a truly great Western, made during the golden age of Westerns, when people actually knew some of the rugged individualists of the late nineteenth century and the West, before all of our information came from self righteous rich kids and bubble boys who probably never stepped foot in a park by themselves.

Enough of the cynicism. Back to the film. It's rich and full of every ingredient, action, drama, three dimensional characters, pathos, scenery, everything that makes a great film. So sit back and enjoy.

Con men dupe rancher for a high dollar payoff

[helpless_dancer · 7/10 · 26 March 2000]

Con artist passes himself off as a rancher's long lost son. He and his partner stand to make a cool million if the plan works. Meanwhile, the real son is making his way home through harsh country with the threat of death nearby all the way. Exciting western filmed in beautiful mountain country.

A Little Known Classic

[rhklwk-1 · 9/10 · 24 January 2015]

My father and I went to the drive-in movies every weekend during the first half of the 1950s, and I can vividly recall seeing a number of Alan Ladd movies sitting in our '50 Ford and munching on cracker jacks while Dad smoked unfiltered Pall Malls.

Dad thought Alan Ladd was the best, and I always assumed that he based his opinion mostly on Ladd's indelible turn in "Shane." But, I can't help but think that "Branded" played no small part in forming his opinion.

What a gem of a movie! I may have seen it as a youngster and, if so, I waited more than 60 years to see it again. It was worth the wait! First, the characters, the script, and the storyline are believable. The players think like we do, talk like we do, and act like we do. That usually is enough to attract some interest in a film. But this movie offers much more.

The cinematography is breathtaking. This little film yields nothing to "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" or "Rio Grande." The scenery, the color, the lighting, are all superior.

The horsemanship is spectacular. How often can you say that about an "oater." The riders in this film gallop along narrow ridge-lines and down steep grades. And there is nothing to cushion their fall except red rock. And take a look at the camera angles, as the riders are tearing down the trail.

And the music! Again, how often do you get to praise the score in a Western? The score is taut, and adds much to the drama and the excitement.

The cast is excellent. And it gives the viewer the chance to see Alan Ladd just before he filmed "Shane." Sure, there were about four movies between "Branded" and "Shane," but "Shane" sat on the shelf for two years before it was released in 1953, so it was actually filmed right after "Branded." You could almost say that Ladd auditioned his Shane character in this film.

This small picture probably had a small budget and a limited release. But it is an "A" picture in every respect. Any retrospective on Ladd or classic Westerns should include this little gem.

Alan Ladd, the drifter with a conscience.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 26 January 2008]

Choya(Alan Ladd)is a drifter that shows up at the Lavery ranch. Mr. Lavery(Charles Bickford)is led to believe that Choya is his long lost son that was kidnapped some twenty-five years ago. He and his partner (Robert Keith)plan on conning Lavery out of his ranch and fortune. He is showered with affection from Mrs. Lavery(Selena Royle)and her daughter Ruth(Mona Freeman).The drifter now wants no part of the scheme to rob his "new family". Choya has second thoughts and heads to Mexico on a tip of the whereabouts of Tonio(Peter Hansen), the Lavery's real son. Nice western. Also in the cast: Joseph Calleia, Tom Tully and Milburn Stone.

" Top-Notch Alan Ladd Western "

[PamelaShort · 8/10 · 22 November 2013]

" Branded " is one of my favourite westerns, I really enjoy Alan Ladd's performance and the storyline in this solid Paramount film. Ladd's character Choya is a loner and a gunman, who becomes involved with bad guy Leffingwell. We quickly learn his ruthless plot, twenty-five years earlier the five year old son of the Lavery family, wealthy ranchers, was kidnapped. Always yearning for their son's return, Leffingwell convinces Choya to impersonate their long lost son, thus giving the two the chance to gain control of the Lavery estate. The Lavery's are fully convinced he is their son but Choya's conscience begins to kick in, he despises the whole plan and hates the rat who set it up. He confesses the truth to the Lavery's daughter and sets out to find their real son. This story is played out with the perfect balance of drama and plenty of good western action as expected. Alan Ladd superbly plays his character with plenty of sharp-edged dialogue and the mannerisms of the up-to-no-good loner are down pat. The film also provides very good performances given by Charles Bickford, Robert Keith, Mona Freeman, Peter Hansen and many other supporting actors. With outstanding cinematography and shot on colourful picturesque locations, "Branded" is a first class western film. I found this film very entertaining and highly suggest it is worthwhile watching for everyone who loves a good western story and the always popular Alan Ladd.

"If he don't look for trouble, trouble finds him".

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 25 January 2015]

As with many older Westerns from the Fifties, this one is entertaining while viewing, but then when you think about the story, elements start cropping up that make you question what the writers were thinking about when they put it together. Take the character of Jeff Leffingwell/'Leff' (Robert Keith). You mean to tell me this guy lived his life the last twenty five years waiting to engineer a massive swindle by kidnapping a five year old, waiting for the kid to grow up, and then con an outlaw into pretending he was the man grown up? What?!?!

Now as this gets revealed to the viewer it all seems credible enough. Alan Ladd pulls off the impersonation believably, and one gets the impression that he's genuinely transformed his character by working with the Lavery family while assuming the role of long lost son. Even when he goes off to find the real missing Richard Lavery, it's with a genuine sense of purpose to redeem himself for duping the Lavery's after they've opened their hearts and home to him.

But here's where the resolution gets sticky? When Mateo Rubriz (Joseph Calleia) and his men arrive at the Lavery Ranch, where was loyal foreman Ransom (Tom Tully) and the rest of the hired hands? It was as if Rubriz had a free run of the place and just managed to show up in the room where Tonio was convalescing from his gunshot wound. Then, with both families patching things up between them, Ruth Lavery (Mona Freeman) hurries after Choya (Ladd) to take that proverbial ride into the sunset. But wait, she was a devoted daughter up to that point, but now she's just riding off without even saying good bye? See what I mean?

And yet, all in all it's a pretty good story even if not in the same league as Ladd's seminal Western film 'Shane". That point I think even the Fonz would agree on.

Better than the average Western, but not great

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 17 August 2018]

I was tempted to give this movie a "6", but one thing saved it -- it's different...not the typical Western.

That doesn't mean that it doesn't have problems. First off, I don't buy that tattoos look exactly like birthmarks. Second, much later in the film, the landscape is swarming with Mexicans hunting Ladd and his charge...but they sneak through. It's a lot to swallow. And, the "Mexican father" gives up way too easily to make a happy ending.

On the positive side, Ladd was a good actor and is good here. Mona Freeman was decent as the future love interest. Charles Bickford, a very good actor, didn't get much screen time; that was a disappointment. Robert Keith was, to be honest, too villainous, making his part seem like a caricature. Joseph Calleia as the "Mexican father"...a little stereotypical, as well. Peter Hansen as the son...he is satisfactory. Selena Royle, apparently once the lover of Spencer Tracy...is fine as the mother. Tom Tully, whom I remembered well from "The Caine Muitiny" is along as a ranch hand, as is Milburn Stone (Doc from "Gunsmoke)...but I didn't recognize him at all.

This is a film that could use some restoration. It was filmed in various places in central Arizona, and it's gorgeous scenery.

It's okay to pass some time, but this is not one of the great Westerns.

Mixing horse opera with soap opera.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 27 November 2023]

How many times on a daytime sudser has a stranger arrived in town and turned out to be a major character's child? Ot discovered by accident to be their long lost offspring? That happens here, sort of, in the old west, with outlaw Alan Ladd joining a group of con-artists who set him up to pretend to be the long lost son of wealthy rancher Charles Bickford. He even gets a tattoo that the five year old had when he was kidnapped, and Ladd's pretty clever with Bickford, his wife (Selena Royle) and his daughter (Mona Freeman) in denying what they believe to be true. It gets all the more soapy when Ladd sets out to find their real son!

Handsome, well groomed Ladd looks like someone from another era when this takes place, but that's a minor gripe considering that the film overall is quite good, colorful and dramatic and action packed. Of course Ladd's going to fall in love with the girl who believes that they're siblings, another very soapy element among the saddles and mountain ranges. Bickford is tough but sentimental, and with a devoted wife and daughter it's easy to see why. He's a devoted family man but ruthless with hiz enemies, reminding me of many soap opera patriarchs.

So even though this is an A western, it's not an epic even though it has elements of many big epics of the 50's and 60's. Robert Keith, who had played his share of powerful patriarchs, is a first class villain as the schemer who comes up with the con. The soap opera elements also increase over the fear how Royle would suffer in learning the truth, similar to "Cat on a Hor Tin Roof's" Big Mama with Bickford obviously similar to Big Daddy. Freeman is a sparking outdoorsy heroine, joining Ladd, Bickford and Keith on a cattle drive, yet feminine and alluring. These are elements that makes a good western that even non-western fans can enjoy with lots of drama and intrigue and action.

Torn Between Two Homes

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 24 November 2006]

While on the dodge from a shooting scrape, gunfighter Alan Ladd meets up with a pair of drifters, Robert Keith and John Berkes. They want him to pose as the long lost son of a prominent Texas rancher Charles Bickford who was kidnapped as a child and never heard from again. John Berkes is a tattoo artist and he gives Alan Ladd a tattoo that looks like a birth mark the child had.

It works all too well as Ladd is welcomed into the home of Bickford and wife Selena Royle. In addition there's a sister in the home played by Mona Freeman and Ladd is not developing brotherly feelings for her.

In the end he can't go through with fleecing these decent people and Ladd sets out to set things right.

Branded was Ladd's second starring western after Whispering Smith and he proved to be equally well received here. The urban Ladd of the films Paramount put him in starting with This Gun for Hire gradually gave way to a western character and he would do more of them of varying quality over the rest of his career. The best of which was that immortal classic Shane.

In one sense though Ladd's character is very much like Raven in This Gun for Hire. Both of them were orphans with great big chips on their shoulders. Imagine Raven a little earlier than when he met up with Veronica Lake and got into the home of a couple like Bickford and Royle and you have a pretty good idea of what Ladd's character Choya is like in Branded.

Acting honors however go to the ever dependable Joseph Calleia as a Mexican bandit chief and to Robert Keith. Keith usually was a good guy in most films, a typical role for him would be the father of the Tuttle girls as he was in Young at Heart. He completely plays against type as a slime ball bottom feeder who turns out to be far more despicable than even we originally think.

Branded is a good western and Alan Ladd and the cast members should be proud of their work in this one.

You Don't Have to Like Westerns to Like This

[gpachovsky · 10/10 · 28 December 2007]

It is almost pity that Alan Ladd made such a lasting impact in "Shane." This is not a criticism of "Shane" which is my all-time favourite movie, but so closely is Ladd identified with the role that many of his other very worthy efforts have not been given the proper credit they deserve. "Branded" is a case in point. As a western it may not pique everyone's interest, but as a morality play (as most good westerns are), it is an interesting study in personal identity, lost and found.

Ladd plays one of his patented icy gunmen, this time a small-time bandit named "Choya" who "lives by his wits" but is reaching the age where he "figures his luck's running out." He becomes involved in a scheme to bilk a wealthy cattle rancher by posing as the long lost son who was kidnapped by bandits some 25 years earlier. All goes well until he arrives at the Lavery ranch only to meet a loving, trusting family which welcomes him with open arms. It is the kind of love and warmth he has never known and, for the first time in his life, begins to question his motives. Resolving that he cannot go through with the sham, he sets out to find the real son and return him to the family.

The film is a good showcase for Ladd, one of the '40s and early 50s decades' most bankable stars. He appears in almost every scene and dominates it without deliberately bringing attention to himself. But equal credit must go to the supporting players who attack their roles with vigor and enthusiasm. Charles Bickford (who never, it seems, gave a bad performance) dignifies the proceedings with his presence as Lavery, the firm but fair cattle baron. Robert Keith is scornful as Leffingwell, a weasel of a man who knows his limitations but who also knows how to survive through cunning and maleficence. Joseph Calleia excels as Rubriz, the notorious Mexican bandit and the true son's adoptive father, whose character is not entirely reprehensible and whose own plight is worthy of our sympathy. And Mona Freeman is fine as the rancher's naïve but pretty daughter. She looks just angelic enough to lend credibility to Choya's reformation.

In terms of plot and presentation, "Branded" recalls the excellent silent films of William S. Hart whose westerns strove for authenticity and were the first to explore serious adult themes (unlike the formulaic Saturday matinée fare). All the ingredients are there: from the good-badman's colorful nickname to the young woman whose wide-eyed innocence leads him to question his unprincipled ways to the conflict between protagonist and adversary that eventually morphs into mutual respect. The action, primarily provided by a lengthy chase, is plentiful while the gunplay is minimal, serving only to advance the plot.

Directed by one-time cinematographer Rudolph Mate, "Branded" is a beautiful film its colorful, sweeping Arizona landscapes and wide open spaces. Mate made a number of pictures in the '50s, most of them genre-types such as "DOA" (film noir), "The Prince who was a Thief" (adventure), and "When Worlds Collide" (fantasy). Though few became bona-fide classics, all are highly entertaining and a joy to watch. "Branded" is one of his best.

Great Movie

[davidjanuzbrown · 10/10 · 8 April 2016]

I have read comments saying that it's almost too bad Alan Ladd did Shane because his other Westerns get overlooked. Alan Ladd is an actor that you either like or dislike, so if you are a Ladd fan ( I have seen 35 movies of his), you will not overlook any Western he ever made. If I would rank his Westerns Branded would rank third behind Shane and the Badlanders. What really makes the movie is the unexpected ending ( spoilers ahead) where bandit Rubriz ( Joseph Calleia (who always played the bad guy)), is nicer then usual, raised Tonio after we was kidnapped as a child from the Lavery Family ( Charles Bickford and Serena Royale), and ends up basically sharing him with the family, instead of being killed. Ladd's character Choya is of course, tough and speaks few words. But unlike other other movies where he gets the girl ( The Glass Key, Boy On A Dolphin, The Blue Dahilia and Whispering Smith to name a few), Ruth Lavery ( Mona Freeman) gets the best of him before he starts to ride away like in Shane. Of course, Mona Freeman was very short ( 5ft 3in), so she was perfect for the notoriously short Ladd ( like Veronica Lake), but she was excellent as Ruth. Especially the final scene with her and Choya on the horse. I like Freeman best ( she is a knockout here), but Branded is one of about a dozen Ladd Classics ( ones where he was the star not an extra like Citizen Kane), and all except Shane are rarely shown, so if you like Freeman, Westerns, and especially Ladd ( who might be in about 95% of the scenes in the movie) it should be a must see.10/10 Stars.

Alan Ladd, all 5'6" of him..

[gkhege · 8/10 · 12 September 2019]

Good western with Alan Ladd. Most of the supporting cast, at the time, were unknowns to worked the Cowboy movie circuit. Worth seeing.

One of Ladd's best westerns

[coltras35 · 10/10 · 19 January 2021]

Slimy Robert Keith has a plan to get rich, and his diabolical plan is to get a young man to play the long lost son of a rich rancher, and he picks a wild hellion known as Choya, played very well by Alan Ladd, to do that. And it works really well until Ladd's conscience gets the better of him, plus he has fallen for Mona Freeman's character, who is the long lost son's sister. Ladd decides to get out of the scheme but not without doing one good turn, and that's by finding the real long lost son. An excellent western that balances the tough with the emotional and also touches up on identity. There's stirring chase sequences that gets one excited, and the scenic view of the canyons and the rough trail is captured really well. It's a western with a lot of heart as well as vigour.

Gunfighter with Feelings

[marcusgreenwood · 8/10 · 3 September 2023]

One of my favorite movies from Alan Ladd that provides some gritty action while the primary plot focuses on an emotional deception and kidnapping. The movie begins with a gunfighter on the run who takes up with cowboy scheming to take advantage of the circumstances of a young boy's kidnapping. The boy had a unique birthmark in which Alan Ladd's character is given a tatoo that mimics the mark in order to swindle away the fortune of the family who had the boy taken.

The acting is strong, emotional and compelling for a 1950's western. The pure struggle that Ladd's character goes through and the events that take place are captivating. The cinematography is pretty good as I usually rate pictures higher with great scenery. Definitely an enjoyable western show.