Looks like much of the movie was turned over to a John Derek uplift, his once promising career then in decline. He may get the screentime, but an unusually meek and mild Nick Adams almost steals the flick with his sympathetic portrayal as Derek's loving brother. I gather (Trivia) the western was shot in just five days, and frankly, the congested narrative and crowded cast show a hurry-up schedule. The various storyline threads are hard to figure out, while the number of supporting cast members drift in and out in hard-to-follow fashion.
Nonetheless, the rivalry thread between Derek and gunslinger Adams is well-done, especially Adams' unusual verbal abuse of the oddly silent Derek. How this will resolve amounts to the flick's main suspense. There're also good touches from director Ulmer, such as realistically keeping the brawlers' bruises for the narrative's remainder, or dragging the brawlers away beneath a galloping stagecoach, et al.
All in all, I get the feeling that a much better Western could emerge from the clotted ingredients if more time were afforded to preparation, especially in better organizing the screenplay''s unusual elements - for example, heightening the critical business papers suspense, or what will happen to Adams's vulnerable character. What survives is a promising flick that needs a more accommodating remake. So anyway, here's hoping.
Nonetheless, the rivalry thread between Derek and gunslinger Adams is well-done, especially Adams' unusual verbal abuse of the oddly silent Derek. How this will resolve amounts to the flick's main suspense. There're also good touches from director Ulmer, such as realistically keeping the brawlers' bruises for the narrative's remainder, or dragging the brawlers away beneath a galloping stagecoach, et al.
All in all, I get the feeling that a much better Western could emerge from the clotted ingredients if more time were afforded to preparation, especially in better organizing the screenplay''s unusual elements - for example, heightening the critical business papers suspense, or what will happen to Adams's vulnerable character. What survives is a promising flick that needs a more accommodating remake. So anyway, here's hoping.