Complete credited cast: | |||
Henry Fonda | ... | Ben Chamberlain | |
Anne Baxter | ... | Valverda Johnson | |
Michael Parks | ... | Vince McKay | |
Dan Duryea | ... | O.E. Hotchkiss | |
Sal Mineo | ... | George Blaylock | |
Lloyd Bochner | ... | Mr. Gorman | |
Michael Burns | ... | Matt Johnson | |
Tom Reese | ... | Leo Weed | |
Bernie Hamilton | ... | Dickory | |
Zalman King | ... | Larkin | |
Madlyn Rhue | ... | Alma Britten | |
Walter Burke | ... | Abraham Berk | |
Rodolfo Acosta | ... | Mercurio | |
George Dunn | ... | Pilney | |
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Pepe Hern | ... | Manolo |
In search of a woman, the washed-up alcoholic vagabond and former convict, Ben Chamberlain, ends up in a god-forsaken and dusty railhead town, where Sheriff McKay and his trigger-happy deputies rule with a heavy hand. Under those circumstances, the drifter who thirsts for answers, and above all, redemption, will begin his investigation, only to soon find himself wrongfully accused of murder. Inevitably, as Ben runs for cover in the rough wilderness, an angry posse of hateful gunslingers will hunt him down before he reaches the borders. Can Ben make it out alive? Written by Nick Riganas
I was very impressed with this, and nearly gave it an 8. (I can't remember the last time I gave a film 9.)
Henry Fonda (wearing a rather obvious wig) proves again his versatility, this time as a drunk. It's not giving much away to say that he does redeem himself, but not in a super-heroical way. Dan Duryea is always excellent value, though I did wonder at his apparently wearing the same glasses (furtively)to read newsprint and for distance vision. (Usually one needs different prescriptions.)
I saw the film courtesy of Youtube, and the sound wasn't great in places, so I didn't grasp why the men that Fonda came across were so keen to ambush the railroad police (and some of them did seem rather rash in the gunfight when it came to firing in full view of the other side).
The "town" where much of the action took place looked realistic, and Anne Baxter as Valverda Johnson was reasonably attractive as a self-sufficient homesteader without having the unbelievable glamour of so many leading ladies in Westerns.
The photography was good, especially a panoramic scene of a train entering the town.
Well worth viewing.