This is a meandering, poorly scripted and over loud film. One of my favourite ( and underused ) presences on screen, Ruth Roman wastes her time here. She comes in and out of the scenario and does her best when she has the poverty stricken dialogue that has been given her, and Gary Cooper wearily looks at her. Total lack of chemistry. I admit that Gary Cooper is one of my least favourite actors and it saddens me he was involved in the nonsense of Ayn Rand's ' The Fountainhead '. His performance in that film seems to drag on into this and the vacant, painful look that gives little to the viewer remains the same. The coldness remains the same as well. If Ruth Roman had as much playing time and contact with him as promised on the poster he would have frozen the passion out of her. It is admittedly a film that comes before the great ones from Anthony Mann. John Sturges and Jacques Tourneur's ' Great Day In the Morning ' and George Steven's ' Shane '. It has its moments like the fire in the jail, but overall it develops little psychology and has a lack of intimacy that gives the best of Westerns their greatness.
Review of Dallas
