Watch The Badge of Marshal Brennan For Free

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Good movie but grossly overrated

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Just watched on Netflex streaming another Jim Davis western. In this one, he's Jeff Harlan who's on the run when he encounters Marshal Matt Brennan (Douglas Fowley) dying in the desert. He then takes his identity and ends up helping the nearest town doctor (Harry Lauter) as he tries to stop some infected cattle from leaving the premises as he tries to find the antidote for the people affected. But the Donaphins (Louis Jean Heydt and Lee Van Cleef as father and son, respectively) are intent to push their cattle across the river so of course a fight is inevitable...This was quite a big role for Davis as he's top-billed for the first time here and has the lion's share of scenes. And this was also the first time I've seen him have some romance in his old movies with Arleen Whelan as Murdock providing such an alluring presence. Also interesting seeing country music stars Carl Smith as the sheriff and Marty Robbins as Felipe. The fender guitar music by Ramey Idriss was also a cool accompaniment to the score and I also liked the unique directorial touches of Albert C. Gannaway like Van Cleef throwing that vial of blood on the camera lens or that shadow of Davis when he mentions about not running away from it. So on that note, I highly recommend The Badge of Marshal Brennan.

The Badge of Marshall Brennan is an extremely SLOW moving western from 1957. The basic premise is fine. A rather tame outlaw named Jeff Harlan (Jim Davis) helps the title character (Douglas Fowley) - who was wounded by hostile Indians out in the desert. When Marshall Brennan dies Jeff takes his badge, their last conversation had been about Jeff's childhood dream of being a lawman. In the nearest town a conflict is starting between the doctor (Harry Lauter) and a rich cattleman and his son Shan (an extremely young Lee Van Cleef-already playing a bad guy). The doctor suspects the cattle are infected with Black Spot Fever and that it is being transmitted to the people in the town. There will soon be a love triangle with Jeff and the good doctor vying for the attentions of a redheaded café owner named Murdock (Arleen Whelan-still extremely pretty at age 40). Marty Robbins (soon to be a county music star) plays a Mexican with blonde hair and a very bad "Cisco Kid" accent.The problem is that the story elements are enough for a 40-50 minute television show, not a 74-minute feature film. So there are expanded establishing shots and considerable chatter, not in the service of the plot but as a way to pad the running length. Making this the type of film that is best watched while doing your homework or reading a book; it is hard to give the thing more than 30% of your focus.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

The Badge of Marshal Brennan is a "B" western starring Jim Davis who later gained fame as the Ewing patriarch in Dallas. Davis was an imposing gentleman with a rugged face and a deep commanding voice. He played villains in "A" westerns and heroes in "B" westerns. In The Badge of Marshal Brennan he plays "The Stranger", a man on the run, who comes across a dying marshal. After the marshal dies, he buries the body and takes the badge. At the next town, he is mistaken for the dead marshal. The town had sent for Marshal Brennan because of an epidemic, outlaws and panic. The Stranger sees it as a chance to hide from his pursuers. What he doesn't realize is that by taking on the badge of Marshal Brennan, he takes on the responsibilities of the dead marshal.It is an excellent movie, one I remember well, even after many years. Davis, as always, give a strong performance as a man who has to look inside himself and finds much more there than he thought. It has mystical overtones that are interesting but do not interfere with its tough "B" western quality. If it ever comes out on DVD, I would strongly recommend it to any western fan.

For a low-budget film, this one really captures the imagination. Jim Davis gives one of the most enigmatic performances of his career in a very off-beat Western that draws its main plot elements from a combination of Eastern mysticism and tried-and-true Western cliches. A truly eccentric and haunting score adds to the ethereal nature of the proceeding. On one level almost laughable, but on another, deeply profound.