Owen Daybright is the adopted son of cattleman Arch Strobie; his loyalty extends to trying to protect Arch's son Lee. Lee has fathered a child and has Owen give the mother, Lily, five hundred dollars; her brother is determined to find the identity of the father and have his vengeance against the man who brought dishonour on his family; neither Lily nor Owen is going to name the father. It soon becomes apparent that Lee has no intention of repaying this loyalty; he sees Owen as a rival for his father's affections and his future inheritance. It would suit him nicely if Lily's brothers were to think Owen was the baby's father and kill him.
This is a solid western; it might not be full of action but it has a good story. Having a story which features an unmarried mother who isn't a 'terrible person who must suffer' is rather surprising for a film of this era of course ultimately the man responsible will have to pay but even this is because he betrayed his adopted brother rather than fathering the child. There are a few action scenes but only one of them is a traditional shootout. I liked how this showed a fair amount of the cowboy's work; we see them breaking horses and rounding up the cattle after they are allowed to roam during the winter I might have learnt something about nineteenth century cattle farming in the United States! The cast does a fine job; Burt Lancaster is most notable as protagonist Owen; Robert Walker is also solid as the cowardly antagonist Lee Strobie. Overall this isn't a must see but it is still worth watching if you are a fan of Westerns.
This is a solid western; it might not be full of action but it has a good story. Having a story which features an unmarried mother who isn't a 'terrible person who must suffer' is rather surprising for a film of this era of course ultimately the man responsible will have to pay but even this is because he betrayed his adopted brother rather than fathering the child. There are a few action scenes but only one of them is a traditional shootout. I liked how this showed a fair amount of the cowboy's work; we see them breaking horses and rounding up the cattle after they are allowed to roam during the winter I might have learnt something about nineteenth century cattle farming in the United States! The cast does a fine job; Burt Lancaster is most notable as protagonist Owen; Robert Walker is also solid as the cowardly antagonist Lee Strobie. Overall this isn't a must see but it is still worth watching if you are a fan of Westerns.