Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

classicsoncall As with many older Westerns from the Fifties, this one is entertaining while viewing, but then when you think about the story, elements start cropping up that make you question what the writers were thinking about when they put it together. Take the character of Jeff Leffingwell/'Leff' (Robert Keith). You mean to tell me this guy lived his life the last twenty five years waiting to engineer a massive swindle by kidnapping a five year old, waiting for the kid to grow up, and then con an outlaw into pretending he was the man grown up? What?!?! Now as this gets revealed to the viewer it all seems credible enough. Alan Ladd pulls off the impersonation believably, and one gets the impression that he's genuinely transformed his character by working with the Lavery family while assuming the role of long lost son. Even when he goes off to find the real missing Richard Lavery, it's with a genuine sense of purpose to redeem himself for duping the Lavery's after they've opened their hearts and home to him.But here's where the resolution gets sticky? When Mateo Rubriz (Joseph Calleia) and his men arrive at the Lavery Ranch, where was loyal foreman Ransom (Tom Tully) and the rest of the hired hands? It was as if Rubriz had a free run of the place and just managed to show up in the room where Tonio was convalescing from his gunshot wound. Then, with both families patching things up between them, Ruth Lavery (Mona Freeman) hurries after Choya (Ladd) to take that proverbial ride into the sunset. But wait, she was a devoted daughter up to that point, but now she's just riding off without even saying good bye? See what I mean? And yet, all in all it's a pretty good story even if not in the same league as Ladd's seminal Western film 'Shane". That point I think even the Fonz would agree on.

drystyx Some have said it's too bad Ladd made "Shane", because it overshadowed this great piece. I'd like to think there's room for both great Westerns to fill the honor roll of classic Westerns.Ladd plays a gunman named Choya. He's probably a lot like Shane, only perhaps a month before Shane becomes the character we see in his film.He's recruited by an older man to pretend to be the son of a wealthy rancher, a son who was kidnapped at the age of five.Many revelations come about during the movie, and most of them very early. The new partner of Choya (Ladd) quickly shows himself to be the last person you'd want near you, a true monster. Yet he's a very believable monster. The first death scene, which is a murder committed by this man, may be one of the best Hollywood stunt scenes ever done. It's worth watching all on its own. Too bad we never see the victim again, as he is a character we could truly like, which makes the act even more deplorable.The dramatics and action that unfold are rugged "tough guy" Western traditions united with very believable motivations. This is a great script, and it is superbly directed, which also means the acting is superb.I won't spoil the film any more. It is a truly great Western, made during the golden age of Westerns, when people actually knew some of the rugged individualists of the late nineteenth century and the West, before all of our information came from self righteous rich kids and bubble boys who probably never stepped foot in a park by themselves.Enough of the cynicism. Back to the film. It's rich and full of every ingredient, action, drama, three dimensional characters, pathos, scenery, everything that makes a great film. So sit back and enjoy.

Nazi_Fighter_David The opening scenes set the tone of the film… Ladd, an itinerant gunman known simply as Choya and with the aid of a tattooed birthmark, passes himself off as the lost son and is accepted wholeheartedly by the parents (Bickford and Royle) and Ruth (Freeman), the man's sister… Ruth had responded to his arrival on the ranch as any pretty woman would respond to a mysterious, handsome stranger, but she rapidly sets right to the fact that he is a relative… As soon as he is welcomed as Richard Jr, however, something happens to Choya… As a member of a loving family, Choya experiences feelings denied him by his own childhood and became increasingly sickened by his contribution in the tricking…Leading a cattle drive to El Paso, Choya decides to give up his charade revealing his true identity to Ruth, who turns on him with consternation and antagonism… There remains only one way to redeem himself and make up for the distressing emotion he has caused the Lavery family: To find their real son… All the elements in "Branded" are taken directly from the straight-shooting school of Western movies… Choya, despite his confession to Ruth that he is a "four-flushin' thief," is true-blue outlaw hero… The smart Leffingwell has him classified correctly: "You won't hit an older man. You ain't the kind that'll draw first, or shoot a man in the back." Even with the rules thus outlined, Ladd still has a chance to present his standard beguiling bad guy early in the film, merely holding back a victorious smile as he pretends confusion over the elder Lavery's excited reaction to his birthmark… Besides its other values, "Branded" is a visual delight… In fact, the movie's one drawback as a Western entertainment is a lack of big action highlights

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) At the beginning of this movie someone asks Ladd if he has any friends, he answers "my guns" and if he has any kinfolk to which he replies "my horse". He gets involved in a plot, impersonating the kidnapped son of a rancher who was missing since he was five. However, he falls in love with Mona Freeman who was supposed to be his sister. This was an unusual role for Ladd to play, and it adds a lot to the film, because you don't quite know what to expect from him. There is here everything you can ask from a good western: an interesting story, colorful, and a lot of action. It was the first western directed by Rudolph Matte. I saw Branded when it was released in the fifties ,with crowded matinées. I enjoyed it and still enjoyed it when I saw it recently.