Branded Reviews

Ladd is super in this story of an outlaw who aids slimy crook Keith in a scheme to impersonate rich rancher Bickford's long-lost son, kidnaped by a bandit 25 years before, in order to bilk the old man out of his fortune. Ladd allows himself to have a birthmark tattooed on his shoulder to convince the rancher and his wife that he is indeed their offspring. Bickford and mother Royle welcome their "son" with open arms. Daughter Freeman finds herself attracted to this stranger until she learns that he's her brother. Made to feel part of the family, Ladd begins to resent his role in the plot and reveals his true identity. As a good-will gesture, he goes off in search of the couple's real son. He finds the young man, who was raised by the bandit as his son, and works out a compromise wherein the true son will split his visits between his biological parents and the aging bandit who raised him. Ladd, meanwhile, admits his feelings of love for Freeman, and the two ride off together. Ladd is totally believable as a man who, over years of drifting, has become very cold and heartless, but allows his facade to melt when he is exposed to a loving atmosphere. Wonderful Technicolor photography by Charles B. Lang, Jr.