Director/Writer Sam Fuller Always had a lot on His Mind and He wasn't going to let Hollywood or a Low-Budget Stop Him. His Movies are Unique, Interesting, and Entertaining. This One is No Exception, in Fact it is Exceptional. Showing itself to be one of the Best in the Glut of 1950's Westerns, if Anything it is Ambitious to a Fault.
The Film can Hardly Contain all the Thoughts and Impressions that Fuller Included, but it is a Glorious Time Watching this Exciting, Rich, and Colorful Story that Has more Authenticity and Audacity in its Short Running Time than a John Ford Trilogy.
Rod Steiger's Miscasting that at Times Feels so out of Place, cannot Stop the Movie from Relentlessly Reeling Out Scene After Visceral Scene, with Near Naked, Painted-Up, and Red Skinned Indians with Dialog so Cooked that the Film is Danger of Boiling Over on Occasion. But it Quickly Moves to Another Bloody Set-Piece of Suspense and Action to Counter-Point the Dense Dialog.
Ralph Meeker, Brian Keith, J.C. Flippen, Charles Bronson, and Sara Monteil all Contribute to the Movie's Presence. It is a Violent, Thoughtful, and Even Handed Western with Strains of Southern Post War Resentment, Native American Plight, Religious Tolerance, Traditional Rituals, some Brutal Nastiness, an Atypical Ending and More. All Packed in this B-Movie that is as Good as it gets in the Fifties and is Another Feather in the Oversized Sam Fuller Cap.
The Film can Hardly Contain all the Thoughts and Impressions that Fuller Included, but it is a Glorious Time Watching this Exciting, Rich, and Colorful Story that Has more Authenticity and Audacity in its Short Running Time than a John Ford Trilogy.
Rod Steiger's Miscasting that at Times Feels so out of Place, cannot Stop the Movie from Relentlessly Reeling Out Scene After Visceral Scene, with Near Naked, Painted-Up, and Red Skinned Indians with Dialog so Cooked that the Film is Danger of Boiling Over on Occasion. But it Quickly Moves to Another Bloody Set-Piece of Suspense and Action to Counter-Point the Dense Dialog.
Ralph Meeker, Brian Keith, J.C. Flippen, Charles Bronson, and Sara Monteil all Contribute to the Movie's Presence. It is a Violent, Thoughtful, and Even Handed Western with Strains of Southern Post War Resentment, Native American Plight, Religious Tolerance, Traditional Rituals, some Brutal Nastiness, an Atypical Ending and More. All Packed in this B-Movie that is as Good as it gets in the Fifties and is Another Feather in the Oversized Sam Fuller Cap.