Sadly Over-hyped

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Rousing locomotor from Paramount (can't call it an oater since there are no horses). The action rarely lets up as two railroad companies compete for most scenic rail line in the mountain west. Jim (O'Brien) works for the D&RG, while McCabe heads up the CC&SJ (Canon City & San Juan). Trouble is McCabe's outfit doesn't care what they have to do to win. Plus, they've got a spy in Jim's camp, so they've got a big advantage. But don't count out the D&RG, since Jim's road gang knows how to fight back, and is headed up by a general, no less.Pudgy O'Brien may look more like a San Francisco barfly (DOA {1950}) than a leader of men, but he's plenty spirited. And get a load of that great mountain scenery. I may be mistaken, but I think the whole time is spent along the rail line, so we get lots of alpine views. Clearly, the producers knew what the draw was. Sure, developments are sometimes either obscure or don't make much sense. But the action quickly moves on, so it's hard to get stuck. The centerpiece head-on between two speeding locomotives remains an eye-catcher, even though the enhancing explosives are pretty apparent.All in all, the 80-some minutes add up to a visual treat, but don't expect much in the way of extended dialogue. The language here is action, not words.(In passing-- There's a commemorative statue of General Palmer, founder of the D&RG, astride a steed in downtown Colorado Springs. Thus his name remains well known in the area.)

There were some weak points to this film that could have easily been fixed or edited and they probably should of. First of all the way Nelson is killed- how can you be convinced you shot someone when you were fist fighting them? Second of all the fact that Linda was the sister of Bob Nelson should have been saved to be revealed to the audience when it was revealed to Jim Vesser after the trains crashed. It would keep the audience in suspense and wondering where she's riding off to and why. And finally the head on collision between two old narrow gauge steam locomotives. Since they were capturing such an amazing scene the filming makers should have set up multiple cameras to capture that awesome crash. A couple close up shots would have been so much better than the single shot from far away. All in all I love this movie. Even though the script was empty at times the work put in to get those spectacular shots of the trains and the mountains made up for it.

What we have here is the typical western shoot-up between two rival railway companies attempting to build through the Colorado Rockies. What makes this film somewhat unique is the head-on collision of two trains engineered by the "bad guys." The collision is for real! The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad provided two narrow-gage trains that we destined for the scrap-heap for the Big Scene. With adequate dynamite placed on the engines, the crash was carried off. There were, obviously, no re-takes. After close-ups, the engines were hauled off to the steel-mills at Pueblo. A good Western that rail buffs will appreciate.

Two railroad construction crews go head to head in getting a new line through to the west. One crew is filled with dirty rotten scalawags who stop at nothing to fulfill their duty. The other group are square shooters who just want to do an honest days work for an honest days pay. They meet for the final showdown in an explosive ending. Good western filmed in beautiful mountain country.