RICHARD EGAN is the gunman who has killed his best friend and must live with the consequences of a town that has turned against him with a legendary song (by Dimitri Tiomkin) that paints him as a coward. He flees to another town and assumes a new identity, but his past catches up with him before the tale is over.
As the scorned outlaw who decides to help weak-minded sheriff CAMERON MITCHELL keep order in a tough "Dodge City" sort of town, Egan is solidly cast as the sturdy anti-hero who rises to the occasion whenever gunfights break out. He wins the admiration of Mitchell's pretty wife, DOROTHY MALONE and their young son, BILLY CHAPIN (from "Night of the Hunter"). Therein, the story bears elements of "Shane" and other similar westerns.
Egan's quiet underplaying of the conflicted gunman is effective and most of the performances are fine. Dorothy Malone looks out of place as a frontier lady, her make-up and costuming making her look like a modern 1950s woman rather than the good wife she was portraying.
The dialogue is full of the usual western clichés. A line at the end of the film, after law and order has finally been restored by Egan, is a summary of the plot's conclusion. "These boys just got their town back," drawls one of the townsmen. And in time for the final reel, the sheriff gets his courage back too.
As the scorned outlaw who decides to help weak-minded sheriff CAMERON MITCHELL keep order in a tough "Dodge City" sort of town, Egan is solidly cast as the sturdy anti-hero who rises to the occasion whenever gunfights break out. He wins the admiration of Mitchell's pretty wife, DOROTHY MALONE and their young son, BILLY CHAPIN (from "Night of the Hunter"). Therein, the story bears elements of "Shane" and other similar westerns.
Egan's quiet underplaying of the conflicted gunman is effective and most of the performances are fine. Dorothy Malone looks out of place as a frontier lady, her make-up and costuming making her look like a modern 1950s woman rather than the good wife she was portraying.
The dialogue is full of the usual western clichés. A line at the end of the film, after law and order has finally been restored by Egan, is a summary of the plot's conclusion. "These boys just got their town back," drawls one of the townsmen. And in time for the final reel, the sheriff gets his courage back too.