Not bad little western starring Glenn Ford as Lorne Warfield, a gunfighter who has had his belly-full of killing and just wishes to carve out a new life with his wife and two daughters. When he finds they have been kidnapped by Apaches, Warfield will have quite a few obstacles in his path before he can rescue them. Arthur Kennedy has the best role of the film as Owen Forbes, a man in love with Warfield's wife and resents the man for walking out on his family. Forbes is slowly growing accustomed to killing as many will die by his gun along the way. Warfield is always looking over his shoulder in regards to Forbes but will have to form a partnership with him in order to somehow survive an accompaniment of ordeals along the way such as Army deserters wishing to make a trade with those Apaches who have kidnapped Warfield's family. They'll have to contend with Mexicans, also.
The film is excellently photographed by cinematographer W Wallace Kelley, especially many numerous long shots which really open wide the hot desert landscape Warfield must ride(..and walk)along the way. But Kelley's marvelous camera-work during the Apache attack on the small town filled with betrayed Army deserters led by John Anderson's Jefferson Addis, is wonderful to behold. Probably my favorite sequence is when Warfield and Forbes have been tied up to be meat for the buzzards as we watch and wonder in horror how they'll ever escape this ordeal. When you have Glenn Ford and Arthur Kennedy as your leads, a film would be hard to dislike. This one does have a rather routine plot, but as I mention above the cast and photography is first-rate.
The film is excellently photographed by cinematographer W Wallace Kelley, especially many numerous long shots which really open wide the hot desert landscape Warfield must ride(..and walk)along the way. But Kelley's marvelous camera-work during the Apache attack on the small town filled with betrayed Army deserters led by John Anderson's Jefferson Addis, is wonderful to behold. Probably my favorite sequence is when Warfield and Forbes have been tied up to be meat for the buzzards as we watch and wonder in horror how they'll ever escape this ordeal. When you have Glenn Ford and Arthur Kennedy as your leads, a film would be hard to dislike. This one does have a rather routine plot, but as I mention above the cast and photography is first-rate.