...it's just very ordinary. That's the main problem with UP RIVER, a low rent western that tells a saga of love, revenge, and adventure. It has a very low rating on this site purely because it's pretty much a forgotten movie, at least until I saw it playing on an obscure TV channel in the middle of the night.
UP RIVER has almost a Jack London vibe going on in the early scenes of a prospector trying to make it big in the wilds. Unfortunately he has a run in with the boss of a criminal gang and before long is beaten up and left for dead. The guy refuses to be scared off and sets himself up in business, but more trouble is to follow.
There isn't really anything here we've not seen done elsewhere, but the thrills and spills of UP RIVER are adequate. There's a set-piece involving a burning building which is handled very well in a stark way, I thought. This is the one and only directing credit in the career of Carl Kitt, so perhaps he was out of his depth, but I was expecting worse. Star Morgan Stevens got a job on THE WALTONS out of this, and old-time actor Jeff Corey (CONAN THE DESTROYER) has a supporting role.