This film begins with some very bad narration. Not only is it unnecessary, but the guy's voice sounds very phony and it adds nothing positive to the picture. It also comes off like an advertisement for the Denver & Rio Grande Railway! The film is a completely fictionalized account of the building of the railroad. In this story, forces of evil (a competing railway) are conspiring to stop the railroad from being built. So, it's up to a tough guy (Edmond O'Brien) to make sure the line is built--and O'Brien is more than willing to beat the stuffing out of anyone who gets in his way....or shoot him! He's one of the most pugnacious characters I've ever seen O'Brien play--a man who has all the patience of Bluto! Early in the film, two evil guys working for the competition attack O'Brien*. And, one of them (Sterling Hayden) shoots at O'Brien and accidentally kills his partner in crime--and blames O'Brien. Well, although O'Brien is acquitted in the case, he's lost his confidence and spends the next 15 minutes in the film coming up with excuses NOT to return to his job. Eventually, however, he does and it's back to punchin' and scrappin' to make sure the men do their part. As for the baddies, they dynamite the hills, rob the payroll and do lots of other things to disrupt progress.
Now into this mix is a clichéd woman--a woman who KNOWS absolutely nothing but seems to think she knows everything. She and O'Brien instantly HATE each other--therefore you know they'll be in love by the end of the film. Another woman (Zasu Pitts) is in the film...for no discernible reason whatsoever. Pitts, I think, MAY have been intended as comic relief--but all her scenes had nothing to do with the plot and she's more an annoyance than anything else.
So it any good? Well, not really. But the film has very nice scenery and my uncle (who watched the film with me) said this line makes a terrific trip--as he's done the trip from Silverton to Durango. So, at least we got to talk about how pretty southwest Colorado is...though we both got a bit bored by the clichés and silly writing in "Denver and Rio Grande".
*By the way, although I love Edmond O'Brien films, the idea of him beating up TWO guys (one of which is the humongous and well-muscled Sterling Hayden) at the same time is quite laughable. In fact, I remember chuckling through this silly scene.
Now into this mix is a clichéd woman--a woman who KNOWS absolutely nothing but seems to think she knows everything. She and O'Brien instantly HATE each other--therefore you know they'll be in love by the end of the film. Another woman (Zasu Pitts) is in the film...for no discernible reason whatsoever. Pitts, I think, MAY have been intended as comic relief--but all her scenes had nothing to do with the plot and she's more an annoyance than anything else.
So it any good? Well, not really. But the film has very nice scenery and my uncle (who watched the film with me) said this line makes a terrific trip--as he's done the trip from Silverton to Durango. So, at least we got to talk about how pretty southwest Colorado is...though we both got a bit bored by the clichés and silly writing in "Denver and Rio Grande".
*By the way, although I love Edmond O'Brien films, the idea of him beating up TWO guys (one of which is the humongous and well-muscled Sterling Hayden) at the same time is quite laughable. In fact, I remember chuckling through this silly scene.