Black Bart, Highwayman

Can you be disappointed if you had no expectations in the first place? In this case: yes. This less than a classic western has an above average idea it fails to deliver. The triangle romance between the zorro- like masked villain, the posing- as- a- good- guy villain and the European dancer- and- mistress- to- the- emperor- of- Austria- turned- saloon singer is actually quite original. The film, however, is not. The standard western imagery and unimaginative cinematography/direction condemns this film into the "forgettable"- category. Still it must be noted that there is no hero in this western: just two outlaws and a corrupt dame. Although they get their due in the "grand" finale, themes like that are not frequent in the westerns of the classic era but associated usually to westerns in the late 60's and 70's.

I was born in 1948 and many years later would see this movie as a young man who loved to watch movies with my mom. Unlike today's F- bomb, rape and blood, this movie is just a decent way to spend some time with family. Characters do not have to rip a woman's clothes off to reveal the obvious, she is beautiful. I still enjoy watching this good little movie.

Gorgeous Miss De Carlo often portrayed historic figures:from Sephora to Calamity Jane and from La Castiglione to Lola Montès (spelled "Montez" ,unlike in Europa).Many users probably know Max Ophuls' last opus (1954) which showed a Lola short of the readies,(Martine Carol)who had to work in a circus -under a cynical MC 's Thumb played by Peter Ustinov) Lola was king of Bavaria LudwiG Der Erste 's lover (not to be mistaken for gay Ludwig Der Zweite)and in the movie,you can hear Lola talk about the jewels he bestows on her;"you look at my jewels the way the king used to look at me" ) The story is a bit tongue in cheek and the tale of this masked brigand is not particularly exciting but Lola adds some spice to it.

....including: a) Technicolor photography so bright and fresh it looks as if the film was made yesterday! b) Yvonne De Carlo at her most gorgeous, in a role that allows her to dance and doesn't require her, most of the time, to take matters too seriously. c) The often smart, snappy dialogue. In many Westerns the dialogue is simply functional; in this one, much of the dialogue seems to have been written for the sheer joy of its own writing. d) Well-done action and stunts e) An unexpected finale, followed by a funny gag that's diametrically opposite to the tone of what has just happened! The film IS a little slow to start, but stick with it. *** out of 4.