You won't be disappointed!

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I caught this on the Grit channel a few weekends ago and while I don't really watch Westerns, I really enjoyed this movie. I didn't know Kirk Douglas was around long enough to be in Black & White movies!It's a solid movie with undertones of "obeying the law" vs "doing what's right".

I happened across this film whilst idly channel flipping. Although the film contains its fair share of Western clichés, it's quite a decent adventure, and Kirk Douglas turns in one of his reliable portrayals of iron-jawed integrity. The film opens with an attempted lynching, foiled by Douglas' US Marshal, and is notable for its cheering emphasis on the rule of law in the wildest of settings (compare the opening sequence of HBO's "Deadwood", pilot episode). This renders the film worthy of mention alongside rather better movies such as the original 3.10 to Yuma, and a number of John Ford Westerns. The tension between the rugged (and armed) self reliance of the frontier, and the development of civil society in (then) uncivil regions adds an interesting element to the familiar ingredients of an arduous journey, gun-play, and a predictable love story. Worth a look.

This is the western Walsh made after "Colorado territory"("White heat" which is "Colorado'"s follow up is a masterpiece but not a western- and it nearly matches its brilliance.A rather short movie,it's an action-packed story which never loses momentum.Beginning with a very tense situation (a lynching) it remains suspenseful and absorbing all along the great divide.The characters are wonderfully depicted and any of them could be the subject of a movie.This is like" Colorado 's territory" or "pursued" ,an intellectual western.The hero,Merrick ,carries the weight of his father's death.Kirk Douglas gives a fine performance ,being in turn nice or unpleasant.What's really fascinating is that his tragedy is about to happen again:his prisoner may be innocent and he will have another fault on his conscience.Pop Keith (Walter Brennan) and his daughter Ann (Virginia Mayo who was at the time Walsh's favorite actress:she's in the two movies I mention above as well) are an endearing couple:the girl is a strong personality -the part was tailor-made for Mayo-while his papa is a resigned old man,whose favorite weapon is nothing but a ditty which he knows reminds Merrick of his past he cannot forget.One can go as far as saying that Merrick sees Keith as a father who returned from the grave.Another relationship father/son is also featured: Roden who demands Keith's head because he thinks that he killed his son Ed-"I buried my heart in the grave" he says- and his second son ,the ugly duckling.Roden speaks of his late offspring as a perfect boy .Walsh's movie raises many questions .Sometimes we wonder where justice really is and who is on the right side of the law.This exciting western deserves to be upgraded

Man accused of murder and rustling is taken on a perilous journey of several days duration. While on the trip to jail, the lawmen were plagued by a lynch mob, the rustler's willful daughter, and the dry, harsh terrain. After finally getting the man to trial, a final surprise awaited the marshal.