GARY COOPER plays a man haunted by his shady past when he's stranded by the side of the railroad tracks after a train robbery, along with JULIE London and ARTHUR O'CONNELL. He finds shelter for them in a shack inhabited by several former gang members he'd been associated with, including his derelict uncle LEE J. COBB, the boisterous head of the gang. JACK LORD is the prize villain of the piece, almost unrecognizable as the man who later starred in "Hawaii Five-0" of TV fame.
But the story is a nasty one, none of the desperadoes worth caring about and Cooper is unable to do much with his role of reformed outlaw trying to turn his life around and save schoolteacher/singer London from the clutches of an evil gang.
He manages to do exactly that, in the course of the film's running time but by that time there's been such extravagant over-the-top acting by LEE J. COBB (he chews every piece of scenery to bits) as opposed to Cooper's "man of a few words" anti-hero, played with such lethargy by Cooper that you have to suspect he was already feeling the signs of illness that would take his life a few years later. He looks aged and worn, remaining stoic throughout in what has to be one of the stiffest performances he ever gave in a western.
There's a violent physical battle between Cooper and Lord where it's obvious that a stuntman is filling in for Gary in the long shots. The role should have been played by a much younger man. JACK LORD gives one of the film's best performances as the most ornery of Cobb's sons.
***** POSSIBLE SPOILER ***** The final showdown after a gun battle in which Cooper emerges the hero has him confronting LEE J. COBB and telling him he's "taking him in" so society can punish him. Cobb resists and starts shooting and then Cooper has no choice but to shoot him. Cobb's fall down the side of a steep, rocky hillside is the last word in dramatic death falls as he flails around and stumbles to his resting place. It seemed a fittingly over-dramatic end to Cobb's larger than life performance here.
Summing up: Downbeat western has little new to offer and Cooper's tired look doesn't serve the character well.
But the story is a nasty one, none of the desperadoes worth caring about and Cooper is unable to do much with his role of reformed outlaw trying to turn his life around and save schoolteacher/singer London from the clutches of an evil gang.
He manages to do exactly that, in the course of the film's running time but by that time there's been such extravagant over-the-top acting by LEE J. COBB (he chews every piece of scenery to bits) as opposed to Cooper's "man of a few words" anti-hero, played with such lethargy by Cooper that you have to suspect he was already feeling the signs of illness that would take his life a few years later. He looks aged and worn, remaining stoic throughout in what has to be one of the stiffest performances he ever gave in a western.
There's a violent physical battle between Cooper and Lord where it's obvious that a stuntman is filling in for Gary in the long shots. The role should have been played by a much younger man. JACK LORD gives one of the film's best performances as the most ornery of Cobb's sons.
***** POSSIBLE SPOILER ***** The final showdown after a gun battle in which Cooper emerges the hero has him confronting LEE J. COBB and telling him he's "taking him in" so society can punish him. Cobb resists and starts shooting and then Cooper has no choice but to shoot him. Cobb's fall down the side of a steep, rocky hillside is the last word in dramatic death falls as he flails around and stumbles to his resting place. It seemed a fittingly over-dramatic end to Cobb's larger than life performance here.
Summing up: Downbeat western has little new to offer and Cooper's tired look doesn't serve the character well.