Complex psychological western. I like another reviewer's point about the conflict between law and order in the film. Only Widmark's Gannon appears concerned with enforcing law in addition to order, while the rest of the town is more concerned with simply order. Fonda's Clay Blaisdell stands as the pivotal character, a morally ambiguous gunslinger with a dubious past. The mutual attachment between him and sidekick Morgan (Quinn) is highly unusual for a macho western. As hired gunslingers, they're a formidable team. However, it turns out that Clay is stuck in the risky business as long as he and Morgan remain together. On the other hand, Morgan's definitely unhappy with Clay's budding relationship with blonde Jessie (Michaels). It's likely that Morgan uses their hired status to keep them together, as the ending appears to show. I expect casting the macho Quinn in what amounts to a suggestive role was no accident.
The 2-hour runtime is pretty well filled as the various undercurrents and conflicts play out. Viewers who cotton to dramatic showdowns should love this screenplay, which has at least four. Surprisingly, it's hard to predict who will be involved, a tribute to the screenwriter. Overall, it's an unusual oater that doesn't follow genre formulas. On the downside is a lot of talk, plus complexities-- especially the characters' backstories-- that at times are hard to follow. Nonetheless, the three leads are excellent, especially an emotional Quinn, along with a supporting cast of familiar 50's faces. So, for western fans, the movie's well worth snagging despite its relative obscurity.
The 2-hour runtime is pretty well filled as the various undercurrents and conflicts play out. Viewers who cotton to dramatic showdowns should love this screenplay, which has at least four. Surprisingly, it's hard to predict who will be involved, a tribute to the screenwriter. Overall, it's an unusual oater that doesn't follow genre formulas. On the downside is a lot of talk, plus complexities-- especially the characters' backstories-- that at times are hard to follow. Nonetheless, the three leads are excellent, especially an emotional Quinn, along with a supporting cast of familiar 50's faces. So, for western fans, the movie's well worth snagging despite its relative obscurity.