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I love this movie so much

Nice effects though.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

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.

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.

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.