Oh Brother
Dakota (Tony Kendall) was the much respected local sheriff until he got hauled in front of the judge charged with bank robbery. Refusing to speak the judge shows some leniency by sentencing him to 15 years hard labour rather than hanging. That is when his brother helps him escape from jail and together they go after the men who were responsible for the bank robbery and discovering those who they were meant to be able to trust are not so trust worthy after all.
As "Brother Outlaw" which is also known as "Rimase uno solo e fu la morte per tutti!" started two things happened. Firstly I was shocked because the DVD I had been given said it was Randolph Scott in "the Cariboo Trail" and this was certainly not a Randolph Scott western but at 1970s Spaghetti western. Secondly despite that initial confusion the opening which featured a stage coach being chased by men on horses accompanied by a typically Spaghetti Western soundtrack impressed. For a minute I thought that maybe I had stumbled across one of those little known Spaghetti Westerns which deserve to be better known.
Sadly I didn't and the problem which "Brother Outlaw" has is that it is slow going thanks to director Edoardo Mulargia who whilst giving us some stylish looking scenes drags every one out longer than need be. It is a real shame because "Brother Outlaw" has a lot of good scenes starting with the opening scene featuring the chase, but like that scene every one continues after the impressiveness has been lost.
It is not just the director's fault that "Brother Outlaw" fails because it tells us too much too soon. Shortly after we see Dakota sentenced to 15 years hard labour we learn that his lawyer is in fact in cahoots with a gunman called Alvarez who is really to blame for the robbery. As such what follows is quite predictable which is a shame because initially it throws us straight into things and spikes are curiosity by not telling us what is going on and who is who.
What this all boils down to is that "Brother Outlaw" has a lot of style unfortunately that style is undone by a director who drags the scenes out longer than they needed. It also sadly fails because after throwing us in with no information it serves everything up on a plate.
