Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Boring

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The makers of this film landed themselves in something of a quandary. When the film was all ready for release, someone in Republic's publicity department pointed out that the title meant nothing. There was not a single reference to brimstone, in any shape or allegorical form throughout the entire movie. A Foreword was hastily added in which the early settlers were commended for fighting Indians, drought - and outlaws like "Brimstone" Courteen. In the movie, however, the character is not called "Brimstone" but "Pop" Courteen, a title that masks a viciously vengeful rancher who, together with his three sons, is waging a secret war against the community in general, homesteaders in particular. COMMENT: I don't know why Adrian Booth gets such prominent billing here. Her role is so small, you would expect to find her name well down the cast list. But then Jack Holt's part is so fleeting, he's hardly in the movie at all. Two players have the lion's share of the action: Number one, Rod Cameron, an indifferent performer, but rugged enough to acquit himself honorably in the action scenes (with the help of a stunt double, of course). Number two, Walter Brennan, who emerges as the real star of the film. Admittedly, you can't always rely on Brennan. True, he's given some engrossingly charismatic portraits in the past, but some directors seem to have been afraid of him and unable to keep him under control. But here in Brimstone, Brennan is not only perfectly cast, but perfectly controlled. It's a good meaty part, and though Walter plays it to the hilt, he doesn't overplay it, or project it on just the one monotonously menacing note. He shades the role well. He can temper open hostility and incredibly mean-spirited viciousness with sly cunning, subterfuge and even a seemingly transparent if rough yet rascally charm. Yes, Brennan has a great role. He plays it superbly.Oddly, the next most impressive performance is handed out by Hal Taliaferro. A long-time western star, under the name Wally Wales, Taliaferro must have played hundreds of miniscule roles in the 1940s. His name often appears towards the bottom of cast lists, but it is usually very difficult to pick him out in the crowd. Here for once, he has a comparatively sizable role. Although he makes an extremely late entrance, he provides an extra ingredient in the climax, agreeably complicating the shoot-out and adding a few nice touches to the suspense. Jack Lambert contributes his usual strong characterization as a surly but none-too-bright offspring, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams turns in a bit of slightly forced comic relief, while Forrest Tucker adequately holds down a none-too-large but unusual role as an opportunistic sheriff.Production values are unusually good by Republic standards (even if they are helped out by some blue tinted stock and matching main footage in the introductory episode), with locations near Sacramento, a fair bit of action, and above all, as said, Walter Brennan's riveting performance.

Almost all of Rod Cameron's westerns ("Salome Where she Danced" an exception) were a full package: good western stories, always a bit too much for the time the movie ran, you had to concentrate otherwise you would miss; plenty of action scenes, shootouts, fistfights, horse and stagecoach chases, you left the movie theater satisfied. In "Brimstone" we have Brimstone "Pop" Courteen and his sons, played by Walter Brennan, the same character as in "My Darling Clementine", who gives life to the movie. Brennan and family are the masked robbers, who are robbed by another masked robber, that's the best part of the film. Good comic scenes of Brennan with an idiotic son, which he barely tolerates. The film would be better in black and white, colors are artificial and ugly. Resuming, this is a typical Cameron western, not as good as "Ride the Man Down", "Panhandle" or "San Antone", but still satisfactory for western lovers.

Basically, this Republic western from the late 1940's is Walter Brennan all the way with admirable support from two of his sons in the film, Jim Davis and Jack Lambert. The so-called star of the show, Rod Cameron, is only so-so and the rest of the cast mainly plod through their lines without much inspiration; this includes the likes of Forrest Tucker, Jack Holt, and "Big Boy" Williams, three screen stalwarts who usually did much better in the acting department. Walter Brennan as the title character, Brimstone, reprises his Old Man Clanton role from "My Darling Clementine," which he parodied twenty years later (still an old man) in the magnificent "Support Your Local Sheriff!" Jack Lambert as the dullard son, Luke (reprised by Bruce Dern in "Support Your Local Sheriff!"), has one of the best lines in the film. Pop Brimstone uses the expression, "...Just as sure as the world is round." Surprised by his dad's revelation, Luke blurts out, "Round?" Later, Luke is still puzzled and tries to convince his dad otherwise. "I've been thinking, Pop. The world can't be round...cause if it was, the people down in China would be standing on their heads." Luke comments while distorting his face and body to indicate the predicament of those living on the bottom of the earth. Why Jack Lambert never received his just deserts for his acting talents remains a mystery.The story is a bit lopsided and in places seems made-up as the film progresses. Generally, it's about the Courteen family of ranchers led by the old man who refuses to accept the end of the open range. He continues to fight a war against homesteaders, nesters, squatters, and the like by robbing stagecoaches of loot being transported for the interlopers. Suddenly, a mysterious stranger appears on the scene to begin robbing the robbers. The mysterious stranger teams up with the local sheriff to ferret out the real thieves. In the process he becomes involved in a split within the Courteen family concerning the youngest son, Bud (James Brown), in love with a nester, Molly Bannister (Adrian Booth). Bud finds himself in trouble with the law and with his own father. Unraveling the twisted plot is not easy but by the end of the show a satisfactory resolution takes place with a few surprises along the way.Keeping with its reputation for delivering plenty of action, Republic makes sure there are fisticuffs and chases. The studio would possibly have been better off shooting "Brimstone" in black and white. The color leaves much to be desired with a few tinted black and white inserts. This may have been a bigger budget film for Republic, but cost cutting is still obvious with rear projections and backdrops clearly visible in several "outdoor" scenes. "Brimstone" is still a pleasing shoot-'em-up for fans of the genre.

This is a Republic Studios shot at an A picture. The problem is that it is still Republic, after all. The film is in color, but it's "Trucolor", which is a two color process that makes the great outdoors look very odd. (The movie was clearly shot in the winter -- which makes the fact that the process really does not show green less of a liability. The blue shows up as a very cold blue) And when it is time for a big sweeping scene that's beyond this film's budget, the movie suddenly changes to black and white for a minute.But the reason for watching is seeing Walter Brennan in full-bore villain mode. And he plays the character as that mean old evil reprobate we all know in our lives, and he is scary good at it. The character resembles his villain in "My Darling Clementine", but he has more film time to be just plain awful, and he makes the most of it. It is bravura acting, but it is not the least hammy or corny. The man won his Academy Awards for a reason.Plot? Stranger with unclear motives takes on a corrupt town. No surprises on how this develops, though one thinks the Walter Brennan character in real life would have made prompt mincemeat of the stalwart hero, and purchased himself a few more local politicians.