This Civil War western gives an early take on a dysfunctional family, and almost works because of its incredible action scenes.
Parson Josiah Galt (Jack Palance) is the father and leader of a bunch of Confederate guerillas modeled after Quantrill's Raiders. He, his sons, and his men invade towns, stealing money, assaulting women, and burning places to the ground. In one Kansas town, eldest son David (Vince Edwards) decides the killing needs to stop. David kills one of his own men by accident during the raid, is arrested, and sentenced to death in the family-run court. With family like this, who needs in-laws? David escapes after kicking little brother Jacob's (George Maharis) butt, flees to Texas, changes his name, and lives the good life with a wife (Sylvia Syms) and son (Benjamin Edney). In Texas, only Marshal Kilpatrick (Neville Brand) knows David's secret- but Josiah's gang sets their sights on Texas and David's new hometown.
Levin's direction is very good, and his action scenes are great- especially a set-piece aboard a flaming runaway train. David Whitaker's musical score is perfect, with bombastic stuff during the action, pumping the adrenaline and setting the mood. The main problem is the two leads- Edwards as Palance's son? Palance was nine years older than Edwards, and they look the same age. Palance is awful, playing the part way over-the-top and constantly stepping into unintentionally hilarious melodramatics. Edwards is the opposite, holding the same constipated look on his face throughout the film and showing as little emotion as he possibly can. Despite some good stunts, the fact that these two are in almost every scene drags down the technical achievements. The normally reliable Brand seems at a loss.
"The Desperados" is gritty and violent, but Levin's inability to get control of his actors weighs down the action. I cannot recommend this film.
