The Ballad of Lefty Brown – Review

A title card quote attributed to Frederick Jackson Turner states, “The frontier environment is at first too strong for the man. He must accept the conditions which is furnishes or perish.” Thunder rumbles. Rain pours. It is a dark night at Zang’s Beer in 1889 in Montana as a shot and a scream ring out.

Lurching out of the small tavern is a body which drops in the wet street moments later. Two men, Edward Johnson (Fonda) and Lefty Brown (Pullman) creep toward Zang’s. They have guns, badges and look to be righting any of the night’s wrongs. Time for meticulous sneaking and steadfast gunplay if there are any outlaws, right? Good thing Edward is a tried-and-true lawman, as Lefty is, well, loyal, and can mostly follow a plan.

As the men save the tavern, they head back to the Johnson homestead where Edward’s wife Laura (Baker) is packing for their planned journey to Washington. Ed is to become a Senator and start the next chapter of his life, and Lefty will miss riding with his pal of 40 years. As the men soon both find, their plans will change.

The Ballad of Lefty Brown may not be a traditional leading man character type for a western, as Lefty gets a promotion, but as the story makes its turn and showcases his character a bit, the script gels. Even if all the plot setup elements are a tad conventional, Lefty being a bit offbeat keeps things a touch off kilter. Pullman is not alone with the strong performance, as the supporting cast are also worthy of praise.

The film moves a touch slow at times but it is a fairly okay western crawl with some realism and bits of tension. Visually it looks the part and has enough going for it story and character wise to give it a shot if westerns are acceptable for you. Grab your six shooter and mount up. Yee-haw.