The lawless race (Dangerous blood) – a western by Raoul Walsh With Rock Hudson And Giulia Adams since 1952 – tells the story of John Wesley Hardin (Hudson), son of preacher JG (John McIntre), escaping the pious and righteous opinions of his father and seeking his fortune in the promising lawlessness that is sweeping the country immediately after the end of the war. Union troops have occupied the territories of the defeated Confederate States, but anarchy reigns. He says goodbye to his beloved Jane (Castle of Maria) and become a player. With the dancer Rosie (Adams) leads a friendly relationship. When she shoots Hanley in an argument, her brothers, led by Dirk (Lee van Cleef), behind him. Since he is good with the weapon, the other opponents die soon and he has to flee. Supported by his father and brother Jim (Dennis Weaver), hides, but is eventually tracked down. The court case, for which they spend all their savings in vain, ends with 16 years in prison … but his wife Rosie and his grown-up son await him when he returns …
The lawless race is a morally very interesting film by Walsh. Interestingly, it shows how the devoted, believing and good father ultimately cares for his son unconditionally, but at the same time (especially before him) condemns his life in sin. The moment the father sees that his son personally knows “easy girl” Rosie is particularly funny. The film takes this moral tension as a common thread running through the film, to the point that the viewer becomes almost too dense that violence is bad and only generates more violence. And that against the backdrop of the lawless West after the war, Wesley defends himself alone, albeit a little quick on the boy’s trigger. Allowing law and justice to prevail would mean an end soon for him, as would the vigilantism of the Hanley brothers.
Raoul Walsh use the bio of the real John Wesley Hardin here from Rock Hudson played impressively. The film sells the story as one of the authentic Western legends that are not well known enough. But audiences find more pleasure in typical outlaws than in these morally complex honor stories. In addition to the bitter moral pills that the characters and the audience have to swallow, there is also humor and entertainment. Undertakers who hover over the protagonist like vultures at first and already have an idea of what’s to come are especially fun. For its age, the film is also pretty bold, so it might Giulia Adams show more of yourself than you are used to from such old hams. Joseph Gersenson accompanies the film with a good soundtrack and visually the film also looks magnificent. Not the best western, but also very interesting, funny and well done.
To die Blue Ray by Explosive Media offers a very solid image of this old ham. The good thing about the transfer offered here is that the film grain, dirt, scratches, etc. are preserved. This ensures the film’s authentic look and you can be glad it wasn’t all digitally filtered to death here. Although the green shimmer on the edges, which is often seen in older Technicolor movies on BluRay / DVD, is annoying, overall the picture looks pretty good under the circumstances. Sure, he weakens in dark scenes, but not too much, given his age. The sound is absolutely perfect, and if you don’t care about the voices of the actors you’re watching, you also have a dubbed version to choose from. There are also subtitles in both German and English. The American trailer and an image gallery are the only extras.
