Enjoying just one more of a steady stream of easy days in his small town, Marshal Gutherie McCabe is visited by US 1st Lt Jim Gary, an old friend. Gary has orders to bring McCabe back to his base for an unknown assignment. Arriving back at the base, McCabe is asked to go into Indian territory so that he might barter for the children (now adults) who were captured by the Comanche many years ago. Despite the chances of actually collecting recognisable (or even civilised) adults from these children, McCabe accepts the job in return for considerable financial recompense. Gary is assigned to accompany him but both men are aware that their mission is only one that will fuel the despair that many already feel.
The only things I knew about this film when I sat to watch this film were that it was a western, starred James Stewart and had been pretty much dismissed it as one he made as a favour for the boss of Columbia Pictures. With this final fact in mind I wasn't too hopeful for the film to really be much cop. True to my expectations the film was average at best, but it started out better than this and offered interesting material at the same time. The film opened with such a relaxed bonhomie that it was a surprise 25 minutes in to see it become more and more edgy, dark and mean. This change in tone comes in with the hurt and anger felt by the townsfolk who hope for something that can never be (the return of their children); in a way this offers potential because the plot cuts both ways and offers a lot of raw emotion if the script can harness it. Sadly the film never really gets to grips with any of this potential and produces a fairly bland and uninvolving story with emotions too simply spelt out in characters that are mainly too basic. The only character that I really felt was semi-realistic was Gutherie who drifts between his good side and more mercenary character; outside of him nothing was done well enough to cover the many problems.
The cast are also part of this potential but few of them really manage to do anything with what little they are given. Stewart does well to turn his usual character into something a bit darker and gives an interesting performance. Widmark is always watchable but he doesn't fit into the story well enough for me. Of the support cast, most are poor or average. Cristal and Jones are painted too clean and don't give good performances, while Kent goes too far the other way with a poor 'savage' performance. However my biggest 'sighs' were saved for the Ford staple comic relief character in this case Posey who is written with a lack of humour and originally that is only matched by Devine's performance.
Overall this film opened with a nice comic tone that became darker and had me interested due to the change and the potential for the story. However the simple characters, basic emotions and uninspiring acting all combine to miss the mark and produce a rather average western albeit one whose dark tone and subject matter causes it to have some aspects that are interesting and thought-provoking.
The only things I knew about this film when I sat to watch this film were that it was a western, starred James Stewart and had been pretty much dismissed it as one he made as a favour for the boss of Columbia Pictures. With this final fact in mind I wasn't too hopeful for the film to really be much cop. True to my expectations the film was average at best, but it started out better than this and offered interesting material at the same time. The film opened with such a relaxed bonhomie that it was a surprise 25 minutes in to see it become more and more edgy, dark and mean. This change in tone comes in with the hurt and anger felt by the townsfolk who hope for something that can never be (the return of their children); in a way this offers potential because the plot cuts both ways and offers a lot of raw emotion if the script can harness it. Sadly the film never really gets to grips with any of this potential and produces a fairly bland and uninvolving story with emotions too simply spelt out in characters that are mainly too basic. The only character that I really felt was semi-realistic was Gutherie who drifts between his good side and more mercenary character; outside of him nothing was done well enough to cover the many problems.
The cast are also part of this potential but few of them really manage to do anything with what little they are given. Stewart does well to turn his usual character into something a bit darker and gives an interesting performance. Widmark is always watchable but he doesn't fit into the story well enough for me. Of the support cast, most are poor or average. Cristal and Jones are painted too clean and don't give good performances, while Kent goes too far the other way with a poor 'savage' performance. However my biggest 'sighs' were saved for the Ford staple comic relief character in this case Posey who is written with a lack of humour and originally that is only matched by Devine's performance.
Overall this film opened with a nice comic tone that became darker and had me interested due to the change and the potential for the story. However the simple characters, basic emotions and uninspiring acting all combine to miss the mark and produce a rather average western albeit one whose dark tone and subject matter causes it to have some aspects that are interesting and thought-provoking.