GManfred If you didn't know this was a remake of "The Lost Patrol" it might be passable, but that picture had tension, a better script and had some big Hollywood names in key roles. "Bad Lands" is a pale imitation in every respect - maybe the Foreign Legion is a better setting for the story, instead of the Old West.The cast of character actors assembled here, especially Robert Barrat and Addison Richards, try mightily but don't have the starpower of Boris Karloff, Victor McLaglen and Reginald Denny. And Robert Coote? what is a Brit with a distinctly British accent doing in the old west? Peculiar, but not enough to offset the steady stream of talk and more talk that riddles the movie. The only repeat performer from "Lost Patrol" to "Bad Lands" is Douglas Walton, who played a young, effete British soldier in the former and here plays a young, effete cowboy - same role, different backdrop.I am second to no one in my affection for westerns, but this might have needed a different director and screenwriter to punch it up. "The Lost Patrol" was made in 1934 - what a difference four years can make.

Melvin M. Carter Apacheria Land of the Apaches is the setting for this remake of the Lost Patrol which was set in... Iraq! Here frontier characters duel the Apaches and each other for survival in a merciless landscape. Except for the setting and the Americanization of the characters it is a scene by scene retelling of John Ford's film. The cast members are all familiar faces film character actors with the emphasis on actor instead of Star. The film was probably a second feature tryout for its director and some cast members. Solid but not top drawer. A nice change would've been showing the warriors of Apache Jack's band of renegades reactions to their own losses. This film and it's predecessors the Ford film and the Soviet film that may have inspired them Ten would be seen in Zoltan Korda's Sahara with Humphrey Bogart, The Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven, Duel at Diablo,and Ulzana's Raid.

whpratt1 Western stories are one of my best enjoyments, however, Bad Lands 1939 just did not hold my attention at all, the only two actors in this film who carried the picture on their backs were, Noah Beery Jr.,(Chick Layman) "Riverboat" '59 TV Series, who was the son of veteran actor Wallace Berry. The other actor, John Payne (Apache Jack) "Tin Pan Alley '40 who was a singer in many film musicals in the 20's. John Payne and Noah Beery were just starting out in their film career's and if you like these actors, the film is worth watching.

MountainMan Most westerns of the 30's and 40's are all alike. Usually shallow representations of the wild west, with no real development of the characters, and always a hero cowboy present to steal the show. This old gem of a movie appeared to be a sincere attempt by the excellent director (Lew Landers) to go a step further. The main character (and only survivor) was a middle-aged sheriff of so-so looks versus the handsome super cowboy. Along with the laughable bullet-flinging scenes (*sigh*) we are shown some of the personality of the other actors. How many times have you seen an old old western where the Lord's Prayer is prayed aloud by one of the cowboys? Barrat does a good job as the sheriff of the posse. I wish they hadn't killed off Henry Cluff (Andy Clyde) so early in the film. Further development of his character might have added to the film, in my opinion. It was fun to see Noah Beery Jr. in his 20's in this film (remember the Rockford Files?). Although it was a short role, great to see John Payne, who was a favorite of mine as a teenager. I rated this a 6/10, which is a good rating.