Two former business partners (Lex Barker and Howard Duff), still friends, find themselves at odds with a large mining company who wants to take over the search for gold in a small Nevada town. John McIntire, as the head of the company, has an army of men at his disposal, and outbids for workers with an unaffordable daily wage threatens what Barker and Duff are working on. Add in crotchety William Demarest who used his daughter Mala Powers' money to get in on the business, and you've got an action packed western filled with intrigue although some of the business lingo can easily confuse less business savvy viewers, like myself.
Still, it is beautiful to look at, although the mountains are certainly not yellow. Demarest is a feisty scene stealer, although when he confronts McIntire, the nervousness and uncertainty in his voice is quite clear. There's several cave-ins that are realistically filmed, and scary. McIntire is a subtle villain, even helping out when there's a cave in inside the mine that Duff owns which McIntire wants to buy in on. Definitely quite different than many other westerns of the 40's and 50's, and colorfully cinematic to boot. The romantic subplot is a major part of the story, but doesn't overwhelm the major plot.
Still, it is beautiful to look at, although the mountains are certainly not yellow. Demarest is a feisty scene stealer, although when he confronts McIntire, the nervousness and uncertainty in his voice is quite clear. There's several cave-ins that are realistically filmed, and scary. McIntire is a subtle villain, even helping out when there's a cave in inside the mine that Duff owns which McIntire wants to buy in on. Definitely quite different than many other westerns of the 40's and 50's, and colorfully cinematic to boot. The romantic subplot is a major part of the story, but doesn't overwhelm the major plot.