Donald Seymour
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Ava-Grace Willis
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Jonah Abbott
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
FightingWesterner
Frank and Jesse James, along with the Younger brothers and their pal Kit Dalton join Colonel Quantrill's guerrillas in order to fight the Union, but soon realize they've joined an army of bloodthirsty murderers.This colorful studio B-picture is a decent enough showcase for war-hero Audie Murphy playing a teen-aged Jesse, as well as up-and-comers Tony Curtis and James Best, who aren't given enough to do.As William Quantrill, Brian Donlevey gives the film's most interesting performance, portraying the rebel leader as cold, calculated, and quite mundane, all at the same time! Murphy's strange attraction to and utter revulsion for him make up most of the film's conflict.One thing that disappoints though, is the throwaway nature of Scott Brady's character. Brady was always a pretty good character actor and a pretty mean heavy. Here, he leaves the picture way too early, long before the dramatic possibilities of his character are exhausted.Finally, during the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas, the manager of the bank being robbed by the James gang rushes at Murphy exclaiming, "You little sh...!" before being interrupted. Was he going to say what I thought he was going to say? Did the actor's ad-libbing almost go too far?
vitaleralphlouis
Any of Universal's Audie Murphy westerns are well worth watching, and Kansas Raiders is no exception. Murphy plays Jesse James who rides with his brother and the Dalton boys to join up with Quantrill -- to continue the war in the Midwest.In time Jesse and the boys will become disillusioned with Quantrill and his ways (perhaps not any slower than Americans with buyer's remorse in 2010 not wanting the USA as a socialist state). But loyalty dies hard, and Quantrill will hold power over Jesse for a long time.One ought not take the "history" in movies like this too seriously. The #1 and #2 targets of Hollywood writers who never read a history book are Senator Joseph McCarthy and General Quantrill. Instead they simply watch other old movies and re-state all the lies. Quantrill's mission is always restated in terms of blood and gore. Oh, right! Try this: If you want senseless killing try reading about Genersal Grant at Cold Harbor, Virginia. He didn't kill many Confederates, but killed 2000 of his own men by refusing them medical attention after their failed battle. Try Google.Kansas Raiders is worth watching again every few years. 8/10
bkoganbing
Kansas Raiders was an opportunity for Universal-International to display some of its young contract players of the time to see who might have some career potential. In terms of career longevity all of them had varying degrees of success.With Audie Murphy as young Jesse James and Richard Long as brother Frank with Tony Curtis as Kit Dalton and James Best and Dewey Martin as the Younger Brothers we see them all as young guns during the Civil War from Missouri all joining up with William Quantrill to raid, plunder, and pillage the west.Quantrill has never really gotten a revisionist view from either history or Hollywood. He's a murdering skunk who's using the Civil War as cover for what he would be doing in civilian life anyway. But he's probably seen in the best Hollywood light possible in this film.Brian Donlevy in this very confused story is as bad as they come, but he does take a kind of fatherly interest in all these young men who've come to join up with him. That's the problem with Kansas Raiders, Quantrill's character is so badly written you can't understand why all those young potential outlaws see in him.Definitely for fans of the above named players only.
classicsoncall
Oh boy, I really wanted to like this film, but as the story progressed it just got more and more unbelievable as major plot holes kept creeping into the story taking away any sense of credibility. I'm not disputing the historical accuracy of Jesse James riding with Quantrill's Raiders during the Civil War, in fact, at the start of the war, he would only have been about fourteen. So all those references to the boys being just kids when they first entered Quantrill's camp were more than justified.Here's where the problems start. Quantrill's (Brian Donlevy) third in command is a fellow named Tate, later revealed to be a Union plant. So why would Tate accept Jesse James' (Audie Murphy) challenge to a handkerchief fight with Bowie knives, putting his own life at risk above the call to duty? That one just doesn't make sense. But besides that, in addition to Tate, Jesse knocks off Quantrill's number two man Anderson (Scott Brady) later in the story without repercussion.All throughout the film, Jesse's disillusionment with Quantrill's methods is consistently put to the test, and each time he decides to hang around. For Quantrill's part, when Jesse challenges the killing of innocent civilians during his attacks, why would Quantrill simply allow the James boys, the Youngers and Kit Dalton to just sit out one of his raiding parties? There's more. It doesn't take long for Quantrill's lady Kate (Marguerite Chapman) to figure out just how ruthless he and his men are. "Kill 'em and bury 'em, all in a day's work, huh?" is how she sums things up. But she sticks around too, even while trying to talk Jesse and his comrades to leave the 'Butcher's Brigade'. As the Civil War rages on and Quantrill's ranks grow thin, there's a scene when all of his men dessert, along with Kate, and Quantrill seems no more upset than if he missed breakfast.But here's the best! During one of Quantrill's raids near the end of the movie, he's blinded by a gunshot from Union forces. Unable to see, and with his eyes blindfolded besides, he and Jesse's men arrive at the site of an earlier raid, and he says, "It looks like we've been here before Jesse". At that point, the movie nailed it's own coffin for me.I have to say though that the casting for the picture at least was inspired. I always enjoy seeing James Best, this time as Cole Younger riding with Jesse's crowd. Kit Dalton was portrayed by Tony Curtis, and Scott Brady looked a bit paunchy as Bloody Bill Anderson. It's a quandary to describe my feeling for Marguerite Chapman in the role of Kate; she managed to convey her anxiety about Quantrill's villainy well enough, but didn't do anything about it.I'm already on record with my thoughts on Audie Murphy playing a screen heavy ("Gunsmoke", "No Name On The Bullet"). Granted he was World War II's most decorated hero, but with his baby face he doesn't convince as a desperado. In keeping with the historical accuracy of Jesse James' age during the time of this story, Murphy's casting makes some sense, but I would have preferred to see him play it with the kind of intensity Emilio Estevez used in portraying Billy the Kid in "Young Guns".
