It was one of a series of modest programmers produced by Aubrey Schenck and directed and/or co-produced by Howard W. Koch during the middle to late 1950s. Most of these were pretty undistinguished but the pair really seemed to be trying to rise above the very low bar set for such films. The Black Sleep (1956), for instance, is a just-okay horror film, but they sure packed it with horror movie stars (Basil Rathbone, Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, et al.) and with big scares that delighted moviegoers. Born Reckless is cut from this same cloth. Partly it's a vehicle for Van Doren, partly a rodeo Western, and partly a musical with rockabilly and Western swing.

A Warner Archive release in 1.85:1 widescreen, the image is a bit soft and damaged in its first reel, but otherwise fine. No extras, a shame, as the original trailer for the picture (my pal Frank Uhle had a 35mm copy) is memorably funny.

Mamie plays trick rider and aspiring rodeo queen Jackie Adams, who's "every big-time rodeo prize rolled into one pair of tight pants" (to quote the advertising). Unfortunately, her buxom features are like a magnet for every horny middle-aged man on the circuit, including sports writer Mark Wilson (Tom Duggan), who assaults her.

In the nick of time, aging rodeo-prize-money chaser Kelly Cobb (Jeff Richards) comes to her rescue. Kelly gives her a ride to the next event, chaperoned by Cool Man (Arthur Hunnicutt), who has "raised him from a colt" and "taught him all he knows." Like Junior Bonner, Kelly knows his rodeo days are numbered, a surprising attempt at actual characterization for such a cheap picture. He's been saving money with Papa Gomez (Nacho Galindo) to buy "a sweet little piece of land," but the rodeo biz proves so marginal there's nearly as much money going out as coming in. (An early scene establishes this: Kelly dominates all the rodeo contests, but a crooked organizer runs off with all the prize money. Fearing Kelly will be accused of being a ringer in cahoots with the thief, Kelly and Cool Man are forced to beat a hasty retreat.)

Jackie and Kelly are strongly attracted to one another, but she's worried he'll stay in the game too long and get himself seriously injured. He's mildly self-destructive, succumbing to the temptations of a randy, wealthy divorcee, Liz (Carol Ohmart). They go back to her place, and by the next morning he's too spent and hung over to be competitive.

In Born Reckless, Van Doren finds the perfect character to play, the kind that turns heads but doesn't particularly like all the attention she attracts. She's a talented trick rider and singer but really just wants to settle down with a responsible fella. She sells her good looks while performing, wearing colorful (and tight) costumes, but doesn't crave attention the rest of the time.

Six of the movie's seven songs (qualifying Born Reckless as a musical) were written by legendary arranger Buddy Bregman (the Ella Fitzgerald songbooks) and Stanley Styne (Jule's son), often backed by Johnny Olenn and His Group. Western swing star Tex Williams performs one of these, but Mamie sings four, as well as a reprise of the title tune. No big hits among them, and Van Doren clearly is no Ella Fitzgerald, but she's got spirit, and the songs are above average.

The rodeo scenes, a mix of stock footage and new material shot especially for the picture, is moderately interesting. The script wisely has an announcer explaining the fundamentals of each event for us greenhorns, which helps keep it interesting.

Video & Audio

The region-free Born Reckless, in 1.85:1 enhanced widescreen, looks rather soft with notable damage in its first reel but seems to improve as it goes along. The black-and-white film has decent contrast and blacks. The Dolby Digital mono, English only with no subtitle options, is fine. No Extra Features.

Parting Thoughts

For what it is, Born Reckless is quite enjoyable, not quite campy but fun nonetheless. Recommended.

Stuart Galbraith IV is the Kyoto-based film historian and publisher-editor of World Cinema Paradise. His credits include film history books, DVD and Blu-ray audio commentaries and special features.