Tonight's Movie: Angel and the Badman (2026)

As longtime readers may be aware, the original version of ANGEL AND THE BADMAN (1947) is not just my favorite John Wayne film, it's high on my list of all-time favorite movies.

Wayne played gunslinger Quirt Evans, reformed by the love of a Quaker girl, Penny Worth (Gail Russell). Wayne's longtime friend Bruce Cabot played the villain, Laredo Stevens, with Harry Carey Sr. as Marshal McClintock and Lee Dixon as Quirt's friend Randy.

In 2009 a TV remake aired on the Hallmark Channel which costarred Lou Diamond Phillips and Luke Perry in the lead roles of Quirt and Laredo; John Wayne's grandson Brendan Wayne (THE MANDALORIAN) played Randy. I've yet to see this version.

I was surprised when I recently learned of a new theatrical remake of ANGEL AND THE BADMAN (2026) with a cast including Zachary Levi (SHE LOVES ME, SHAZAM) as Quirt and Tommy Lee Jones as Marshal McClintock.

My initial impulse was to simply ignore the new film, but eventually curiosity got the better of me, especially as I enjoy both lead actors; I decided that if nothing else it would be interesting to see it for purposes of a review.

I'm glad to say that, rather to my surprise, I enjoyed it quite well. Westerns are fairly rare these days, and this was nicely done, with good performances. I particularly liked Levi as the titular badman.

The screenplay was by Kevin Townsend, Christopher Tuffin and Jaime Hernandez, based on the 1947 original screenplay by James Edward Grant. As I'll discuss below, some scenes are lifted straight out of the original film, while it goes its own way in other regards.  

Most notably the implied and/or threatened violence in this version is more disturbing, though the film is laudably careful not to actually show anything overly graphic; this is a welcome policy of the film's distributor, Angel Studios.

As the film begins, Quirt Evans (Levi), carrying ill-gotten gold pieces, is on the run from the law in the form of Marshal McLintock (Jones).

Though shot, Quirt escapes arrest and manages to ride onto the Worth family's ranch, where he collapses.

Quirt is nursed by to health by Penny (Meg Fraser), her mother Irene (Jean Louisa Kelly), grandmother (Melissa Chambers), and little brother (Barrett Klepac). The Worths are Christians who believe helping a stranger in need is the right thing to do.

I'll insert that there were some differences from the original movie right off the bat, deleting the father character from the 1947 version and inserting a grandmother instead. Another change is that the Worths are Christians but not Quakers, which impacts the evolution of the story in the new version.

Also, I don't believe Mrs. Worth had a first name in the original film, so I think it's logical to assume that giving her the name Irene this time around was a tribute to the original actress, Irene Rich.

Continuing on regarding the plot, once he's recovered Quirt plans on leaving the Worth ranch, yet finds himself a bit reluctant to actually do so. When he intervenes with the Worths' neighbor Frederick Carson (John Pyper-Ferguson) and induces him to stop damming up water, the local community shows Quirt their appreciation by presenting him with a Bible.

Quirt feels a bit trapped, especially as he's a wanderer yet attracted to pretty Penny, but with his enemy, the violent Laredo (Neil McDonough), threatening the Worths his plans to move on change...and Marshal McClintock is also keeping his eye on Quirt.

Although like many film fans I grumble about remakes, wishing for more original stories, it's ironic I've enjoyed multiple remakes this year, including this one. As stated above, a well-done Western is always welcome. I appreciated that the script followed the broad outline of the original, with some specific scenes aligning very closely, while it's also different enough to feel like an original spin.

The theme of Penny simultaneously taming a wild horse is a bit too on the nose; my only other complaint is that the final sequence, in which Laredo clearly attends to attack Penny, is more troubling than I would have liked. (And for that matter, I didn't need to see Laredo's scars!)

Penny and her family initially deal with Laredo and his gang with prayer and kindness, but as they're not Quakers, violence is on the table too. Ironically this takes away some of the unique Quirt-Penny conflicts from the original film, making it a bit more of a standard Western, although the respectful treatment of Christianity as a normal part of family and community life is welcome.

Levi is both believeable and appealing as Quirt; we see his struggles as a man on a knife edge who has clearly done bad things and could continue on...or not. Fraser's appeal as the forthright, gutsy Penny makes it believable he could change his ways.

Among the supporting cast, Jones is as perfect as Marshal McClintock as one would expect, and his casting is one of the reasons to see the film. McDonough is very effective as the threatening Laredo and makes the stakes very real. It's a long way from McDonough's genial performance as Marvel's Dum Dum Dugan, one of the "Howling Commandos."

ANGEL AND THE BADMAN was directed by Julio Quintana and filmed by Alex Quintana.

Parental Advisory: This film is rated PG-13. Although not graphic, Laredo kills a number of people and intends to do more bad things as the movie comes to a climax. PG-13 seems about right to me, all things considered.

Here is the trailer.

For additional thoughts on this film, please see Rachel's review at Hamlette's Soliloquy.

Coming soon: A review of the latest version of Jane Austen's SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (2026).

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