The picture opens with the historically infamous attack on Lawrence, Kansas by Quantrill's Raiders in 1863, and the shadow of that event hangs over the character of Lieutenant Jeff Travis (Randolph Scott) for the remainder of the story. Travis was a Confederate spy who supplied Quantrill with information but became disillusioned with the wanton destruction and murder of innocent men and boys during the Lawrence massacre, finishing out the Civil war as a regular soldier.
Another holdover from the Quantrill band attempts to take advantage of Travis's talents upon relocation to Prescott, Arizona, becoming more lawless since the capital of the territory is being moved to Phoenix. Jules Mourret (George Macready), who helped save Travis's hide in an earlier incident aboard a riverboat, figures he would be perfect as a plant in the employ of the Conroy Stage Line. The company transports gold bullion, and inside information would make for more effective strikes against the company.
If not for the presence of screen villains like Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Alfonso Bedoya, the story barely generates enough interest to sustain itself, as evidenced by a fair amount of other reviewers on this board. What might have been an interesting dynamic between Claire Trevor and Joan Weldon as the women angling for Travis's attention also fails to go anywhere. True, Travis chooses Josie (Trevor) by film's end, but in the telling, muddled by ineffective gunplay between the rival Degas (Bedoya) and Mourret gangs, one is tempted to take Randoplh Scott's advice midway thought the picture - "I need a drink. Maybe five or six".
Another holdover from the Quantrill band attempts to take advantage of Travis's talents upon relocation to Prescott, Arizona, becoming more lawless since the capital of the territory is being moved to Phoenix. Jules Mourret (George Macready), who helped save Travis's hide in an earlier incident aboard a riverboat, figures he would be perfect as a plant in the employ of the Conroy Stage Line. The company transports gold bullion, and inside information would make for more effective strikes against the company.
If not for the presence of screen villains like Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Alfonso Bedoya, the story barely generates enough interest to sustain itself, as evidenced by a fair amount of other reviewers on this board. What might have been an interesting dynamic between Claire Trevor and Joan Weldon as the women angling for Travis's attention also fails to go anywhere. True, Travis chooses Josie (Trevor) by film's end, but in the telling, muddled by ineffective gunplay between the rival Degas (Bedoya) and Mourret gangs, one is tempted to take Randoplh Scott's advice midway thought the picture - "I need a drink. Maybe five or six".