Like a number of his earlier works, Badlands of Dakota assisted Broderick Crawford to develop the pained, overachieving Willie Stark he so absorbingly played in ALL THE KINGS MEN. The warpaint he occasionally dons does detract from the seriousness of his delivery but with plot twists like the finale, the paint probably was a welcome cover for his embarrassment. What I did like about the film was the restrained performance of Richard Dix as Wild Bill Hickok and the raw and bitter characterization of Calamity Jane by the exquisite and doomed France Farmer. The film is worth the time spent watching it if only to watch Farmer's swaggering scenes and to hear her deep and soothing voice.
Review of Badlands of Dakota
