Ex-Marshal Steve Judd is hired to transport a shipment of gold through dangerous territory. Judd takes the job to help win back his self respect and hires old partner Gil Westrum and the younger Heck to help him. However the trip is made more dangerous when Heck picks up a young woman trying to escape from her father and the fact that, although both at the end of their careers, Judd and Westrum both have different plans to end their lives in retirement.
I will always watch this film again simply because I have that gentle western tune in my head that this film uses as it's score. It is nice and always conjures up the concept of age and memories for me when I hear it. Thus it is appropriate to be used here as this film is very much about age. The two leads are men who have been left behind as the west has started to move onwards. Judd has taken the job in an effort to win back the person he used to be, while Westrum has been bought in. The plot does best when it focuses on these two, however it sometimes seems a lesser story when it has to follow other strands for longer than 5 minutes (as it does in the middle section). However it still all holds together but I do think more could have been made of the two men.
For me the best scene in the whole film is three quarters way through where Judd and Westrum ride alongside each other and discuss their thoughts (`the clothes of pride' bit). If there had been more like that this would have been a stronger film. That said it does do this well and the climax is less about the fate of Elsa than it is about the decisions the two men have made.
Western legends Scott and McCrea are both strong in the lead roles and the film serves them both well with good parts. They are both witty but also manage to bring across things that the script only hints at they bring it out. Starr and Hartley are younger and both seem to be happier in the shadows of the leads, Starr is a little stiff but she is better. The support cast throws up a few faces such as LQ Jones and Warren Oates to give a deep impression.
Overall this is a good western that leaves aside Peckinpah's trademark violence in return for a much more sedentary and thoughtful film. With the film making good use of the landscape as well as it's other assets, it is a good film for anyone as long as you know it is slower than many of Peckinpah's work.
I will always watch this film again simply because I have that gentle western tune in my head that this film uses as it's score. It is nice and always conjures up the concept of age and memories for me when I hear it. Thus it is appropriate to be used here as this film is very much about age. The two leads are men who have been left behind as the west has started to move onwards. Judd has taken the job in an effort to win back the person he used to be, while Westrum has been bought in. The plot does best when it focuses on these two, however it sometimes seems a lesser story when it has to follow other strands for longer than 5 minutes (as it does in the middle section). However it still all holds together but I do think more could have been made of the two men.
For me the best scene in the whole film is three quarters way through where Judd and Westrum ride alongside each other and discuss their thoughts (`the clothes of pride' bit). If there had been more like that this would have been a stronger film. That said it does do this well and the climax is less about the fate of Elsa than it is about the decisions the two men have made.
Western legends Scott and McCrea are both strong in the lead roles and the film serves them both well with good parts. They are both witty but also manage to bring across things that the script only hints at they bring it out. Starr and Hartley are younger and both seem to be happier in the shadows of the leads, Starr is a little stiff but she is better. The support cast throws up a few faces such as LQ Jones and Warren Oates to give a deep impression.
Overall this is a good western that leaves aside Peckinpah's trademark violence in return for a much more sedentary and thoughtful film. With the film making good use of the landscape as well as it's other assets, it is a good film for anyone as long as you know it is slower than many of Peckinpah's work.