Bushwhackers, The

2009. THE BUSHWHACKERS (1952-USA). With JOHN IRELAND, WAYNE MORRIS, LAWRENCE TIERNEY, DOROTHY MALONE, LON CHANEY, JR. A solid Western adventure featurÂing rugged John Ireland as Jefferson Waring, a Civil War veteran who has just experienced a lifeÂtime’s worth of bloodshed. In fact, the film opens with an extended Civil War sequence, which fully illustrates all of the brutality of combat. At war’s end Waring promises that he will “never raise a gun against a man again.” this self-described “tired ex-soldier from Virginia” heads toward the virgin lands out West and the promise of a rich and full life. Unfortunately, he is destined to encounter as much strife as he experienced in wartime. The cause of it all is Taylor, a greedy land baron who has instructed his gunmen to brutally murder homesteaders in the territory around the bustling town of Independence, Missouri. Taylor’s goal is to gain control of the land and sell it to the railroad for a tidy profit. No man will confront Taylor, who virtually owns the town’s sheriff. The only person to cite the injustice is Cathy Sharpe, fiery daughter if Independence’s newspaper editor. Waring arrives on the scene wanting no trouble and desiring only to live in peace. It won’t take long for him to realÂize the dire need to strap on his gun belt and go into action. The point is that a war may have just ended-the Civil War on screen and World War II in real life-but there still is evil in the world and battles to be fought and won. This symbolism is never more apparent as when Cathy comments, “every American is in politics, only some don’t know it.” CAUTION: The audio has some distortion. 68 minutes. Western