Kansas Raiders (1950)

1950 brings us another Audie Murphy Western, this time he plays probably the greatest historical villain known to most, Jesse James. Coming at the end of the Civil War, James, his brother Frank & others find themselves avoiding the red legs by falling under Colonel Quantrill's (a Southern military leader known for his thieving than his efforts to continue the fight against the Union army) command. Believing this person is the one to bring the war effort to a focus, James is constantly demoralized by the reality of Quantrill's goals which comes to a head when the enemy closes in. Being especially busy for the short running time, this film ultimately becomes the red headed stepchild to better James & company efforts (The Long Riders, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid & The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) cramming a lot of incident into the narrative making it feel like the story needed to reach the finish line no matter what which is a shame since Brian Donlevy does a good job in his role.