The Maverick Queen Blu-ray Review: Barbara Stanwyck Tangles with Butch and Sundance

Directed by Joseph Kane, The Maverick Queen (1956) finds silver-screen queen Barbara Stanwyck squaring off against Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and the whole Wild Bunch. This blazing six-gun soap opera from Republic Pictures was filmed in Trucolor and holds the distinction of being the first from the studio shot with its “Naturama” widescreen process. Also along for the ride are co-stars Barry Sullivan, Scott Brady, and Mary Murphy.  

Needing a meal and rest, a lone stranger calling himself Jeff Young (Barry Sullivan) hails attractive, young rancher Lucy Lee (Mary Murphy) and her old cook (Wallace Ford) as they watch over their herd. Jeff pulls up at the right time as he’s able to thwart an armed-robbery attempt by a bunch of wild goons led by the one and only Sundance Kid (Scott Brady). Jeff decides with such bad hombres around he’ll help Lucy drive her cattle safely to town. Reaching town with no further trouble, Jeff makes his way to Kit Banion’s establishment (Stanwyck), both known as “The Maverick Queen,” on account of the way she made her fortune rounding up maverick calves and selling them as her own. 

Jeff, who introduces himself to Kit as Jeff Younger, nephew of the infamous outlaw Younger Brothers, quickly works into her good graces. While dealing cards at the Maverick Queen, Jeff is eventually invited to partake in Kit’s illegal practices, where he’s introduced to her notorious business partner, Butch Cassidy (Howard Petrie). Now as a member of the Wild Bunch, Jeff, who’s actually an undercover Pinkerton Detective, has his chance to take them all down but it won’t be easy because Kit has fallen for Jeff which leads to murderous trouble as Sundance is hopelessly enthralled with Kit. Will the Maverick Queen go legit? Will the Pinkerton Detective get his man? Will anyone survive the epic final fight?   

The Maverick Queen, despite using Butch and Sundance as key characters, is a purely fictional tale even though it may have been very loosely inspired by actual events and other real people. It isn’t one of Stanwyck’s best outings but its 90 minutes of solid western action filmed in bright color and on location in the beautiful state of Colorado. The dialogue is a bit hokey and some scenes are a little forced but the supporting cast do a fine job with what is presented to them in the script. The action scenes are fun and especially stand out when filmed against the robust Colorado landscape.

The lone special feature on this Kino Lorber Blu-ray release is an informative audio commentary by film historian Dwayne Epstein. He can be a bit dry at times but that’s okay as he relates many fascinating facts about the cast and filming location that I had no clue about. For instance, Scott Brady, is actually the younger brother of notorious Hollywood troublemaker Lawrence Tierney. Though interesting, Epstein does spend just a bit too much time dwelling on outlaws and lawmen that have no impact or importance to the movie. Overall, a good way to rewatch the movie. 

The Maverick Queen features Barbnara Stanwyck as a strong western business woman years before her role on the small screen in The Big Valley. Her willingness to get dirty and ride her own horse doing minor stunts (and wearing her costumes very well, thanks to wardrobe mentor Edith Head) is all part of what makes her a true baddie of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Like her or not, her presence is undeniable and makes any role or project that much better.