JOEL McCREA is the main reason for liking "Colorado Territory"--and the script is full of quotable lines that have a smart sting to them. But this remake takes the Humphrey Bogart/Ida Lupino/Joan Leslie original and transposes it to a vast western landscape with McCrea as a gunman on horseback planning his last heist with a corrupt gang of thieves.
It's hampered by some odd miscasting. VIRGINIA MAYO wears heavy make-up as a girl with Pueblo blood who falls instantly in love with McCrea. She stands by her man, even when she learns that he's found a new sweetheart--DOROTHY MALONE in a terribly underwritten role that paints her as a good/bad girl whose loyalty is questionable when tempted by money.
It's an okay western, routine in many ways, but fans of McCrea should enjoy his performance. JOHN ARCHER and JAMES MITCHELL are convincing as "heavies" who get their comeuppance in the end.
Summing up: A less than honorable remake of a more gripping original.
It's hampered by some odd miscasting. VIRGINIA MAYO wears heavy make-up as a girl with Pueblo blood who falls instantly in love with McCrea. She stands by her man, even when she learns that he's found a new sweetheart--DOROTHY MALONE in a terribly underwritten role that paints her as a good/bad girl whose loyalty is questionable when tempted by money.
It's an okay western, routine in many ways, but fans of McCrea should enjoy his performance. JOHN ARCHER and JAMES MITCHELL are convincing as "heavies" who get their comeuppance in the end.
Summing up: A less than honorable remake of a more gripping original.