The only reason to see BROKEN LAND, a low-rent western from 1962, is for a young Jack Nicholson as a hot head who tangles with a small town's evil sheriff and then teams up with two other men and a "wayward" woman who also have run afoul of the sheriff. Shot in Arizona, the film looks pretty good for a DeLuxe color print job, but the acting and dialogue are absolutely atrocious.
To Put it in Perspective, Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher put a "New Face" on the Western in the 1950's and Sam Peckinpah put an Amen to it with Ride the High Country (1962) and then Reincarnated the "New" Western with The Wild Bunch (1969). Peckinpah, it Could be Said, Ended the New Wave of Westerns and Started the New New Wave of Westerns.
An impossibly young looking Jack Nicholson is probably the main draw for this early Sixties Western which takes place in an unnamed town. However a Wanted Poster appears at one point with a two thousand dollar reward for the Hole in the Wall Gang, so my instincts tell me the story took place in the upper mid-West, quite possibly Wyoming where Hole in the Wall was located.
This early 60s western would be totally forgotten if not for a performance by a young Jack Nicholson. The film barely clocks in at 60 minutes, IMDb timing notwithstanding, and its bare bones screenplay tries to to far too much in that brief span.
Very early Jack Nicholson vehicle that is nothing more than a quick B-western with some exotic Arizona Apache Zone locales. Evil small town sheriff Kent Taylor rules the community with an iron fist and several within the small landscape join forces to change things.
This short 1-hour Western movie centers on a drifter who comes to a small town and has run-in with its sadistic sheriff. A string of circumstances leads to running from a posse, robbery, and murder.
Ever watch a low budget film and wonder how the original audience felt about it after watching it in their cars at the drive-through? I'm sure that a vast majority of people who watched this originally in 1962 either fell asleep or hated it.
A young Jack Nicholson is the only reason to watch this film. Jack was 25 years old when he appeared in "The Broken Land.
Featuring outstanding Arizona scenery in Cinemascope color, one interestingly written character (Billy), and Jack Nicholson in a young anti-hero performance, what is wrong with this Western? The answer is: Nothing is wrong.
