Although it's a good-looking Technicolor western; this film attempts to explore the effect war has on one man, a colonel, (played by Glenn Ford) and those who fall foul of his obsessive behaviour. Although Ford is a bit one-note in his portrayal of an officer unhinged by power and blood-lust, it's interesting to see him play a nutter, while his friend, William Holden, is (for the most part) a bland good guy. I have a feeling that this western - one of the earliest with a "psychological" theme - wanted to say a lot more about the way people are deranged by the horrors of war, but it was probably constricted by the need to tell a box-office yarn. The direction is stolid; the colour is lavish, and there are some excellent confrontational scenes between Ford and the victims of his mania. Ellen Drew doesn't have much to do as the girl loved by both Ford and Holden. The ending is suitably melodramatic. It's just a shame we aren't able to see a little further into why Ford has turned into a monster; or the circumstances which have led him to his state. There's a bit too much of him twitching and glaring every time someone suggests he might be a bit loopy - we're always on the outside; if we were more on the inside it could have been a touching tragedy.