Feckless cowboy, married but also semi-secretly the father of an infant born to an unwed neighbor girl, allows his foster-brother to take the rap when the vengeful brother of the tight-lipped lass comes to town packing heat. Oater opens with a laughably clichéd narration by a Jimmy Stewart sound-alike informing us this is a yarn about "cow country and cow punchers, cattle, and men. Worn leather, saddles, blisters and branding irons!" Unfortunately, it turns out to be a rather wan, dim horse-opera, with Robert Walker's rotter one-dimensionally written and portrayed (he whips a horse that won't let him ride, a signal to us that his wife--who only has one Sunday dress--is miserable at home). Burt Lancaster, occasionally unshaven and cat-like in his movements, broods sexily and is the only reason to watch the picture. *1/2 from ****