Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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 personally think the actors in this movie were probably underpayed. The people who attempted to write the dialog for this film should have been made to sit on the front row at the first screening. The use of axle grease to make the outlaws appear to need a shave was a little strange but caught my attention. Being presented in black and white, just may have brought it to a level of interest in old westerns by old farts like me.No cursing was also a plus for me.

This film is a low-budgeted re-working of the classic film "High Noon". Instead of the hero being the sheriff, however, Rick Martin's a gunman who is thoroughly hated by his old home town and he returns to try to save them from a band of sociopaths headed their way. At first, they are very hostile towards Martin and make his stay short and nasty--and refuse his offer of help. But when the gang approaches, the town shows itself to be gutless again and again...and folks somehow think Martin is going to help them regardless of his reception.This film would have been a lot better had it not been so much like "High Noon". It's not a remake but coming just a few years after, you cannot help but make the comparison...and in every way it comes up a bit short. A decent time-passer made a bit better by Hayden's strong performance.

I'm a big fan of Westerns but this one.... whew, what a stinker! I think what turned me off almost right off the bat was the inane dialog. I think I could have written better dialog than this when I was in eighth grade. And the poor actors! Given this terrible dialog, none of them came across looking anything but ridiculous. Really, I'm not kidding. Some of this is little better than what you'd get in an Ed Wood film. The biggest tragedy is Sterling Hayden. He was probably THE "big" star in this movie which if you called it a B-Western, you'd be lavishing praise upon it. This is what should be called a B-minus Western perhaps. Pity Sterling Hayden, who appeared at other times along with Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Frank Sinatra, and other major talents. For him to appear in a vehicle this poor must have been something he tried to downplay for the rest of his life.One annoying thing about this movie is all the men look like they haven't shaved in a week and their faces are all greasy. I know in the old West guys weren't always well groomed but to a man this is a movie that makes you want to just go 'EWWWW!' Really, this is a crummy Western. Denver Pyle also had to live this one down, especially after appearances in so many great Westerns. Bad, bad movie.

What a shame that a really competent director like Andre de Toth who specialized in slippery, shifting alliances didn't get hold of this concept first. He could have helped bring out the real potential, especially with the interesting character played by William Bishop. As the movie stands, it's pretty much of a mess (as asserted by reviewer Chipe). The main problems are with the direction, cheap budget, and poor script. The strength lies in an excellent cast and an interesting general concept-- characters pulled in different directions by conflicting forces. What was needed was someone with vision enough to pull together the positive elements by reworking the script into some kind of coherent whole, instead of the sprawling, awkward mess that it is, (try to figure out the motivations and interplay if you can). Also, a bigger budget could have matched up contrasting location and studio shots, and gotten the locations out of the all-too-obvious LA outskirts. The real shame lies in a waste of an excellent cast-- Hayden, Taylor (before his teeth were capped), Dehner, Reeves, along with James Millican and William Bishop shortly before their untimely deaths. Few films illustrate the importance of an auteur-with-vision more than this lowly obscure Western, which, in the right hands, could have been so much more.