BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

bkoganbing Despite an unnecessary prologue in which we are treated to a history of the life and career of William Quantrill, Arizona Raiders concerns us with the efforts of former Quantrill members Audie Murphy and Ben Cooper to capture a large band of former Quantrill men led by Michael Dante and George Keymas who are now operating in Arizona.The man who captured Murphy and Cooper is Buster Crabbe former Army captain and now in charge of the new Arizona Rangers. He's offering Murphy and Cooper a Dirty Dozen like mission, get them and there will be a pardon awaiting. What Crabbe doesn't know is that Murphy is both one unreconstructed rebel and he's got a younger brother in the Rangers already played by Ray Stricklyn. That fact cuts several ways before the film is over.Arizona Raiders is a decent enough western. Murphy was still going strong in doing these second feature B films. But it was certainly nothing you couldn't see on television where westerns ruled at that time on the small screen.

Spikeopath William Quantrell's raiders are cornered by Capt. Tom Andrews and Quantrell and a number of his men are killed. Two are captured whilst Montana Smith and the others escape to carry on their illegal operations. Clint Stewart and Willie Martin are the two captives, who much to their surprise, are spared a death sentence on account of Capt. Andrews vouching for them as soldiers of integrity and honour. Sentenced to 20 years hard labour, the guys are faced with an interesting proposition when Andrews offers to break them out so as they can join the Arizona Rangers. The plan being for them to infiltrate the renegade Raiders and help to bring them down.With few votes and even less reviews of substance written, one could be forgiven for thinking that Arizona Raiders is barely worth the time. Using elements of the Quantrell Raiders legacy and blending with the Texas Rangers plot lines, Arizona Raiders is not found wanting in the entertainment department. Directed by William Witney and starring Audie Murphy, Buster Crabbe {this film not to be confused with Crabbe's 1936 film, The Arizona Raiders} and Michael Dante, it's a film that has a number of issues within its plot. It would have been easy to just have it as a straight forward tale about bad guys turning good {something other reviewers claim it to be}, but writers Frank Gruber and Richard Schayer add impetus to the good v bad axis by cramming in other factors.Murphy plays lead protagonist Clint Stewart, asked to basically switch sides and loyalties, his conflict-ion is excellently portrayed by genre legend Murphy. His resolve is further tested by emotional pulls involving his brother and best friend, with Witney and his team seemingly happy to put Stewart thru the mangler, with the result being a richly told character strand. Also into the equation comes the role of the Indians, so often seen as the nemesis and bad boys of the genre, here they get something slightly different as they become involved in this white man squabble, it's really rather refreshing the part they have to play. Tho the score from Richard LaSalle is badly out of sorts, this is off set a touch by the visual treat on offer with the locale. Beautifully shot by Jacques R. Marquette, the Gold Canyon location is a sumptuous extra character, giving an added depth to the story unfolding. The story is nicely paced by Witney, who rightly gives us development of characters in the first half of the piece, while all the genre staples of shoot outs, villains and chases are nicely added to the already intriguing broth.A little treasure as far as this viewer is concerned. So if you be a genre fan such as I? Well do catch this one given the chance. 7/10

sandyjean2 This movie is a remake of the 1951 movie "The Texas Rangers", same plot, same storyline, same lines. Only the locale and the actors are different. I take that back, this time it wasn't just a couple of men who were removed from prison, they were moved from state to state.Having said that, I did enjoy the movie. There were enough changes to make it interesting. Audie Murphy did a wonderful job in the lead role. The location was beautiful. The director did a good job in making this movie stand on it's own. If you liked the earlier movie, you will enjoy this remake. Audie Murphy fans should enjoy seeing him in this.

Sir Loin I saw this recently on cable and, admittedly, I'm a bit biased due to the fact that I have lived in Arizona for 33 years. Looks to me that special attention was paid to the scenery in this film and it's a terrific shoot-em-up. I also applaud the defensive use of cactus in this film, quite painful as I've experienced in person :)Lots of great action and like a previous poster said, the Indians are on the side of the "good guys" this time out and are not the enemies. Looks like it was a great time while filming!They've been showing it on cable recently and it's worth your time if you happen to stumble upon it.