When her brother is killed, Jean Shelby replaces him as the head of a gang of Confederate guerrillas. Bitter because she believes her fiancée, a captain in the Union Army, has betrayed her, she commits many depredations before she learns he was not the man responsible but, by then, it is too late. Jean Shelby, a member of a family of Confederate sympathizers in Missouri during the Civil War, has been providing information about the Union Army to Confederate Raiders. So the Union is trying to capture the Shelby family, with the help of an outcast Indian who has his own grudge against the Shelbys. When Jean and a Yankee captain fall in love, their plans and loyalties are tested. A Western with a semi-historical Civil War setting, "Renegade Girl" gets off to a fast start and has a good ending, although in between it slows down quite a bit. It has an interesting story and leading character.<br/><br/>Ann Savage stars as Jean Shelby, a Confederate sympathizer in Missouri late in the Civil War. She and her family have been helping provide information to Quantrill's raiders, so the Union Army is trying to find the Shelbys, assisted by an outcast Indian who has his own grudge against the family. Things get complicated when Jean and Union Captain Fred Raymond fall in love with each other, raising difficult questions about their loyalties and futures.<br/><br/>The film gets off to a pretty good start, with a lot of action that is mostly plausible, especially given the complex historical situation. It slows down then for quite a while, and starts to drag a bit. But it picks up towards the end, and the final sequence is pretty good, and not predictable. Savage does rather well in the lead, making her character mostly believable. Most of the other characters are routine (especially the Indians, portrayed in a very unfavorable light), aside from Edward Brophy as a gregarious member of Quantrill's gang.<br/><br/>There's nothing spectacular here, but it's a decent film and should be worth watching either for fans of old Westerns or for those interested in movies about the Civil War era. Okay, I know my summary is harsh, but it is direct and to the point. Even for a cheap B-western, "Renegade Girl" is a bad film—filled with clichés and atrocious writing really atrocious.<br/><br/>The film is set during the waning years of the Civil War. Like so many westerns made during the era, this one involves Quantrill's Raiders—a group of terrorists who fought for the South and who were even hated in the South by many since they pretty much ignored the rules of war at that time. In particular, they attacked Northern towns and targeted civilians. Yet, oddly, this film portrays them as the good guys! Now that's a first.<br/><br/>The main focus, however, is not Quantrill but a very anachronistic and overly butch lady. Sporting a 1940s perm and acting like the clichéd western macho dame, she is all fire and emotion. And, she seems to switch her mind from one minute to the next. For example, she helps Quantrill and her brother (one of Quantrill's men)—yet soon after meeting a handsome Yankee officer, she completely abandons her cause and suddenly sees her compatriots as the bad guys! What a flake! Then, after she is injured by a nasty Native, she is saved by this Yankee. Yet, when he leaves her to be cared for, when she awakens she announces that she now HATES him!!! What is with this lady—is she off her medication?!?! Most of the rest of the film is pretty bad as well—filled with bad writing and confusing plot elements. In fact, I absolutely hated the film—and I normally like B-westerns and cut them a lot of slack (although they were cheap, they were usually very entertaining .unlike this film). Not worth your time. But if you are crazy enough to want to see it, this is a public domain film from tiny Robert Lippert Productions. You can follow the links on IMDb and download your own legal copy. Although why you would is beyond me now that you've been warned.
Casday replied
295 weeks ago