Wonderful character development!

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I like westerns that starred Ben Johnson as a relatively young man. "Wagon Master" is a well known example. I came across this obscure film, released about the same time. In it, Ben plays Ben(Shelby, that is): an ex-Union soldier, who rides to the Tallon ranch in AZ, hoping to kill Johnny Tallon, whom he blames for his brother's death in battle, due to Johnny's said cowardice. The problem is, according to Ned, Johnny's blind brother, and his Uncle Charlie, Johnny is already dead, executed for bank robberies. This is the gossip in nearby Fort Defiance. Dave Parker, who owns a neighboring spread, also comes to kill Johnny, because his 2 brothers were killed in that same incident. No Johnny, so Parker decides to kill Ned instead. Ben doesn't think this is right, so we have a shootout, with Uncle Charlie, rather than Ned, a victim. Ben suggests that he and Ned form a partnership at the ranch. Before this, some Navajos showed up, saying they would take all the Tallon cattle. The Tallons + Ben didn't put up a fight. The Navajos were angry because the US government said thy had to move to a reservation.Eventually, Johnny shows up, to everyone's amazement, with $5000. he stole from a bank. He wants to use some of this money to get Ned to an eye doctor in San Francisco. But , Ned doesn't want to go. He wants to stay with Ben and the ranch....I will stop here, and let you see the film. There's a good amount of action, with several hostile encounters with Indians, as well with Parker and his bunch. There are several fist fights in the open, and a de facto suicide. Dane Clark, as Johnny, has a decided cocky attitude most of the time, which seems to be largely based on his very quick draw and accurate shooting. Peter Graves ably plays Ned Tallon, while white haired, bewhiskered, George Cleveland plays Uncle Charlie. Craig Woods plays Dave Parker, while Tracey Roberts plays Julie: Ned's surprising romantic interest.When Navajos attack a stagecoach, the horses are decoupled from the stage, which is used as a primitive barricade. The Indians are sitting ducks for a good rifle shooter as they circle around in daylight. They should have been able to kill all the defenders, but don't, before a cavalry arrives to shoo them away. They could have killed the horses or run off with them, thus disabling the coach.In one segment, the guys are complaining they can't get out the side of this long canyon. Yet, I saw several places where there was no canyon wall, and they should have been able to get out.I have to wonder about the scriptwriter's knowledge of geography, as the stage driver claims that San Francisco is only a day's travel from Navajoland!I have to wonder about Johnny's last act. Seems he was depressed over Ned's loyalty to Ben as opposed to him.This was one of the last films shot in 2-color Cinecolor: a cheaper alternative to 3-strip Technicolor... Shooting took place in parts of NM, southern Utah, and CA. See it at Youtube

The first half is a fine slice of emotional clarity, that stubborn homestead squatting like a tiny island on an ocean of redrock. The movie itself turns on Peter Graves's sightless Ned. If he's not likably appealing, then the plot doesn't work. But fortunately Graves hits the right notes without being maudlin, so we understand why others would sacrifice to help him. And when Ben (Johnson) finally turns around to help, we know there's more to family than blood kin.I wish the second half were as streamlined and inventive. But instead, it falls back on a series of clichés. What purpose, for example, is that gunning down of Parker's men except to show how fast Johnny (Clark) is. Then there's the badly clichéd Indian attack. Sure, it's panoramic and I assume that was the real purpose. However, the attack is unimaginatively staged as though the circling Redmen have no other desire than to give the Whites some live target practice. It's like they have no military sense at all. And instead of the stereotypical good- hearted hooker, why not pair the sightless Ned with a homely girl. For glamour obsessed Hollywood that would have been a real departure. In a lesser Western, such shopworn episodes are expected. But for a movie that starts off so well, these are clichés pulling events down to the merely routine.Nonetheless, the acting is first-rate, and I especially like George Cleveland's grizzled old Uncle Charlie. The chemistry between Ned and Ben and him is simply superb, and when he collapses in the doorway, there's a genuine sense of loss unusual for any Western. Then too, was there ever a better cowboy than the under-stated Ben Johnson with his authentic western twang. His gradual reconciliation with Johnny is both compelling and believable. I'm only sorry that this story of family parts finally fitting together just misses being a real sleeper.

It is several months after the end of the civil war, and Ben Shelby (Ben Johnson) shows up at the Tallon Ranch to kill John Tallon (Dane Clark). Tallon had given himself up to the confederates just before the war ended and this led to a company of the Arizona volunteers being wiped out, Ben's brother among them. He meets John's young, blind brother Ned (Peter Graves) and Uncle Charlie. John is not around and Ben ,saying he knows John from the war, decides to wait for him. A problem comes up when he gets very close and Ned and Uncle Charlie. John has become a bank robber and a killer which Uncle Charlie has kept from Ned and asks Ben to also keep the secret because Ned worships his brother who supposedly was a war hero. Word finally reaches them that John is dead and Uncle Charlie and Ben have to tell Ned.There are additional problems. The Indians find out they are going to be moved to Oklahoma, don't like the idea and go on the warpath. Local land baron Dave Parker, who also lost brothers in the Arizona volunteers, finds out about John Tallon's act of cowardice and wants all Tallon's dead. This is just an excuse to get their ranch.AS you might guess. John Tallon finally shows up, but he is not the coward and killer you might expect, and Ben, besides fighting Dave Parker and the Indians, must face the possibility of killing a close friend's brother This is not exactly a B western. It was shot in New Mexico, has a cast of superb actors, more plot than there is in two current films( actually a plot worth of a major film) and complex, conflicted characters. I saw this film when I was very young and found out recently that it has not aged. It is well worth tracking down and watching. A very good sleeperThere is a problem with the color. The film was shot in Cinecolor, and it is just not as good as Technncolor of even Eastman color.The colors fade and blues and greens are lost. This film deserves a restoration.

This western has a good story by Louis Lantz, it is not an average western story, it is quite unusual. The main characters are a blind man, Ned Tallon (Peter Graves), and two other men who are trying to help him, his brother Johnny Tallon (Dane Clark) and Ben Shelby (Ben Johnson). Shelby wants to kill Johnny Tallon whom he blames for his brother's death. The three of them have as enemies the Navajos and Dave Parker and his men. There is a lot of action and up to the last part the film goes surprisingly well considering the low production budget. The color process, Cinecolor was used in some B western and is far inferior to Technicolor. In the last part it becomes too sentimental, and also the final shootout is not on the same level as the rest of the film. But it is worth seeing.