A stagecoach bound for Jericho is ambushed by Alex Flood (Dean Martin). He's a bad man and he takes over the town with his brutal gang. He hangs the stagecoach driver for shooting one of his men in self-defense. Stagecoach owner Molly Lang (Jean Simmons) tries to save the driver but fails. She happens to be Flood's ex and he still holds a flame for her. A wounded Ben Hickman (John McIntire) and his former deputy Dolan (George Peppard) arrive in town to take partial ownership of the stagecoach line with Molly. Molly had informed Ben of her dire situation but Dolan was unaware and is unconvinced of joining her. Flood is demanding 51% of everything including the stagecoach.
It's interesting to see Dean Martin play against type. He's actually pretty good at playing evil. It's an interesting tense stand-off for the first half of the movie but I kept wondering about Dolan's plan if he had any at all. I really like Flood losing the poker hand to Dolan. It would have been even more interesting if the losing was deliberate as a way of enticing him to leave. On the other hand, I don't like the inciting incident with the deputy tearing up the stagecoach. It's too haphazard and rescuing a damsel is too bland. A better inciting incident would be killing Ben. That would lead to Dolan going on a revenge war against Flood and that would be a better movie. Once Dolan killed a deputy, Flood would have hung him without a trial. That section do not make sense. It's not until the saloon shootout that the movie finds its violence. It's a long time coming and about thirty minutes late. The shooting is still a little old fashion but at least, there is plenty of it.
It's interesting to see Dean Martin play against type. He's actually pretty good at playing evil. It's an interesting tense stand-off for the first half of the movie but I kept wondering about Dolan's plan if he had any at all. I really like Flood losing the poker hand to Dolan. It would have been even more interesting if the losing was deliberate as a way of enticing him to leave. On the other hand, I don't like the inciting incident with the deputy tearing up the stagecoach. It's too haphazard and rescuing a damsel is too bland. A better inciting incident would be killing Ben. That would lead to Dolan going on a revenge war against Flood and that would be a better movie. Once Dolan killed a deputy, Flood would have hung him without a trial. That section do not make sense. It's not until the saloon shootout that the movie finds its violence. It's a long time coming and about thirty minutes late. The shooting is still a little old fashion but at least, there is plenty of it.