Hearing Johnny Cash's tremendous "American Series" albums for the first time last year with a friend,one of the main things which would coming up when we talked about the music,was wondering how Johnny Cash would be in a real Western movie.Feeling one day that I should take a look to see if Cash had actually done a Westen,I was pleasantly surprised to find,that not only had Cash starred in a Western,but he had actually starred in one alongside "Spartacus" himself!:Kirk Douglas.
The plot:
Slowly heading to the near by town,out law Abe Cross has to make pace when his horses legs suddenly become injured.Taking the struggling horse to a near by vet,Abe tries to pass the time by introducing himself to the local residents.Being standoffish over a stranger having entered "their" town,the residents begin to let their guard down,when sheriff Will Tenneray appears and tells Cross that he will not allow any trouble to occur in this peaceful town.
Initially showing a mutual respect towards each other,Will and Abe start to hear whispers around the town over people placing bets for who is the best gunslinger out of the two.Noticing the piles of cash that the betters are gathering,Will and Abe relies the they could get all the cash that they could ever dream of,if they take part in a winner takes all shoot out between each other.
View on the film:
Featuring in almost every scene of the film,Johnny Cash and Kirk Douglas make Will and Abe into a terrific double act,with Douglas's calculating,calm family man Will being a complete contrast to Cash's rugged,rumbling loner cowboy Abe.Despite the dialogue feeling slightly tied,and lacking the "livly" feel which the two lead actors bring to the movie,screenwriter Harold Jack Bloom cleverly uses the building up of the "main event" to show the worrying effect that hype can have on people.as Will and Abe are almost made obsolete,due to the residents being more focused on bloodsport and money than the personality's of the two individual's.
Smartly turning the final shoot out into a blink and you'll miss it boxing KO style match,director Lamont Johnson wonderfully turns the films ending upside down,and leads it into a terrific fantasy area,which allows the movie to end on a mysterious note of "What if ?."
The plot:
Slowly heading to the near by town,out law Abe Cross has to make pace when his horses legs suddenly become injured.Taking the struggling horse to a near by vet,Abe tries to pass the time by introducing himself to the local residents.Being standoffish over a stranger having entered "their" town,the residents begin to let their guard down,when sheriff Will Tenneray appears and tells Cross that he will not allow any trouble to occur in this peaceful town.
Initially showing a mutual respect towards each other,Will and Abe start to hear whispers around the town over people placing bets for who is the best gunslinger out of the two.Noticing the piles of cash that the betters are gathering,Will and Abe relies the they could get all the cash that they could ever dream of,if they take part in a winner takes all shoot out between each other.
View on the film:
Featuring in almost every scene of the film,Johnny Cash and Kirk Douglas make Will and Abe into a terrific double act,with Douglas's calculating,calm family man Will being a complete contrast to Cash's rugged,rumbling loner cowboy Abe.Despite the dialogue feeling slightly tied,and lacking the "livly" feel which the two lead actors bring to the movie,screenwriter Harold Jack Bloom cleverly uses the building up of the "main event" to show the worrying effect that hype can have on people.as Will and Abe are almost made obsolete,due to the residents being more focused on bloodsport and money than the personality's of the two individual's.
Smartly turning the final shoot out into a blink and you'll miss it boxing KO style match,director Lamont Johnson wonderfully turns the films ending upside down,and leads it into a terrific fantasy area,which allows the movie to end on a mysterious note of "What if ?."