Hollywood usually gets the details of history all wrong, whether it be miscasting the actors and distorting the facts. This does more of the later, but why quibble? It's an interesting piece of western fable told with gusto and taste, well cast and quite entertaining.
The American west always looks its best in color, with the mountain greenery and blue skies smiling down on the settlers. That little piece of prose as as authentic as the story here of two rival railroad companies dealing with the competition in completely different ways. Edmund O'Brien represents the more ethical of the two, while a bearded Sterling Hayden represents the more ruthless of the two.
This is highlighted by a train collision head on, with Zasu Pitts amusing as a lovelorn cook. Linda Elliott, who went onto a career on T.V. as Kasey Rogers, is a vengeance seeking young woman who gets in the good graces of O'Brien with a hidden agenda. It's a fast moving A western that may not have all the facts, but at least provides steady entertainment and pretty visuals.
The American west always looks its best in color, with the mountain greenery and blue skies smiling down on the settlers. That little piece of prose as as authentic as the story here of two rival railroad companies dealing with the competition in completely different ways. Edmund O'Brien represents the more ethical of the two, while a bearded Sterling Hayden represents the more ruthless of the two.
This is highlighted by a train collision head on, with Zasu Pitts amusing as a lovelorn cook. Linda Elliott, who went onto a career on T.V. as Kasey Rogers, is a vengeance seeking young woman who gets in the good graces of O'Brien with a hidden agenda. It's a fast moving A western that may not have all the facts, but at least provides steady entertainment and pretty visuals.