A rancher-turned-bounty-hunter, an old prospector and a discharged army officer form an uneasy alliance when they capture a convict with a pricetag on his head, and attempt to escort him and his girl across high Sierra country back to justice.
Superficially, this movie looks like a lot of fifties westerns, but under Mann's tight direction and an excellent script by Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom it breaks away from all the genre clichés. For a start it's all beautifully shot on location in the Colorado Rockies, contrasting the harsh drama against some incredibly gorgeous backdrops. More importantly however, all of the characters are refreshingly original and expertly played. Stewart, far from the conventional hero, is a rather pathetic figure, unable to affect the action, constantly falling down and driven against his better judgement by his greed. Ryan is a wily enemy, bound and unarmed, who uses his wits to pit his captors against each other. Leigh, for my money the most stunningly beautiful actress of her day, plays the whole movie in men's clothes with boyish short hair. Meeker is his ever-reliable grinning psychotic self and Mitchell brings great dignity to what would be the comedy feisty-old-man role in a lesser western. The film is a western, but also an odyssey, a five-character play and a classical tragedy - no-one gets the money, a party of Injuns hunting Meeker are massacred dishonourably, Ryan, Mitchell and Meeker all die, and Stewart's only hope of a better future is to abandon his past and his purpose. There aren't many laughs in this picture but it's a terrific example of the lyricism and visual splendour that some great westerns have.
Superficially, this movie looks like a lot of fifties westerns, but under Mann's tight direction and an excellent script by Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom it breaks away from all the genre clichés. For a start it's all beautifully shot on location in the Colorado Rockies, contrasting the harsh drama against some incredibly gorgeous backdrops. More importantly however, all of the characters are refreshingly original and expertly played. Stewart, far from the conventional hero, is a rather pathetic figure, unable to affect the action, constantly falling down and driven against his better judgement by his greed. Ryan is a wily enemy, bound and unarmed, who uses his wits to pit his captors against each other. Leigh, for my money the most stunningly beautiful actress of her day, plays the whole movie in men's clothes with boyish short hair. Meeker is his ever-reliable grinning psychotic self and Mitchell brings great dignity to what would be the comedy feisty-old-man role in a lesser western. The film is a western, but also an odyssey, a five-character play and a classical tragedy - no-one gets the money, a party of Injuns hunting Meeker are massacred dishonourably, Ryan, Mitchell and Meeker all die, and Stewart's only hope of a better future is to abandon his past and his purpose. There aren't many laughs in this picture but it's a terrific example of the lyricism and visual splendour that some great westerns have.