The town is falling apart, so the decent people petition the governor to free Howard Keel so he can serve as their sheriff. He returns to find things changed: his girl, Jane Russell, is married to preacher Wendell Corey, and Brian Donleavy is leading one of the factions trying to own the town. What the town doesn't realize is that Keel has changed too.
THis is one of the Geezer Westerns produced by A.C. Lyles for Paramount, a chance to squeeze out the remaining juice from aging stars like John Agar and Richard Arlen. Its themes are very good, with the ideas of perception and aging brought squarely into focus. Keel is no longer the singing slab of beef he had been for MGM fifteen years earlier. Now he looks beefy and a bit worn around the edges. So does everyone, except for Wendell Corey, who seems to have been 50 when he first appeared on the big screen, and the same age when he last appeared on it.
Where the movie falls apart is in the mechanics of the western. There are no vistas, no beautiful landscape, and the fight that wraps up the plot looks random, with poor stuntwork. The result, despite a promising start, is just average.
THis is one of the Geezer Westerns produced by A.C. Lyles for Paramount, a chance to squeeze out the remaining juice from aging stars like John Agar and Richard Arlen. Its themes are very good, with the ideas of perception and aging brought squarely into focus. Keel is no longer the singing slab of beef he had been for MGM fifteen years earlier. Now he looks beefy and a bit worn around the edges. So does everyone, except for Wendell Corey, who seems to have been 50 when he first appeared on the big screen, and the same age when he last appeared on it.
Where the movie falls apart is in the mechanics of the western. There are no vistas, no beautiful landscape, and the fight that wraps up the plot looks random, with poor stuntwork. The result, despite a promising start, is just average.