Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Everything about this Movie is Wrong and it had the Unfortunate Bad Timing of being Produced in one of the Most Transitional Periods in Cinematic History. Everything was Changing and the Times were Certainly Hard on Tradition. It also has the Amazing Ability to bring Together both Conservatives and Liberals because this is one Everyone can Dismiss.It is Certainly not a Typical Western, but that isn't the Problem. The Problem is that Unlike the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone and the Western's of Sam Peckinpah this one from Director Burt Kennedy and Star Henry Fonda was a Monumental Flop because it is just Bad Entertainment.It's not the Pacifistic Message that is at Fault here, it is the Unrealistic, Frustrating, Flat-Line of the Movie's Unappealing Nature that made this Dead On Arrival both with Critics and at the Box Office. Nothing in the Film is Appealing even in a Visceral, Gritty, Old-West kind of way. It is just Boring.None of the Great Character Actors can Breathe any Life into this Dead Wood and just for another Ridiculous Example of the Film's Clueless Nature, all of the Whores are Gorgeous and have a Beauty Salon Sheen that makes all of Their Scenes seem Surreal. This is a Major Misstep from all Involved and has been Rightfully Forgotten by Fans of the Western.

A strange man from Bodie (Aldo Ray) rides into a jerkwater town that he proceeds to terrorize. He tortures the local prostitute in a saloon, kills a man who tries to help, clubs the barkeep with a bottle, shoots his own exhausted horse, steals another, kills the owner, etc. He even takes over the town Indian's tepee, drinks his hot coffee directly from the fire pot, and eats his corn off the stalk. The psychopath then burns down the town before he rides away on his stolen horse. All the while the semi-cowardly pacifist lawyer-sheriff (Will Blue = Henry Fonda) sits, then watches, and then works up the courage to get the drop on the sadist or perhaps shoot him in the back. He is not successful, but so aren't the docile town citizens, who number about 15 or 20. Blue has to salvage what's left, and it isn't much. Could the burning town and "Bodie's" savage laughter be symbolic of hell and Satan? There is some rebuilding, but you know the stranger will be back (Don't they always return?). Aldo Ray plays one of the most effective mean roles in western cinema history, i.e. without the need for dialog. His hulking presence is enough. He certainly does a good job in killing off much of the veteran cast in his two town "visits." A movie feature is the double ending, perhaps one of the first for a US Western, and perhaps a prelude to future slasher flicks.There is no way this movie was the real West, which was tamed after all. We know that the old time lawmakers – Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Temple Houston, Charlie Siringo, Pat Garrett, Heck Thomas, Bill Tilghman, Chris Madsen, and the rest – did what they had to do. And these folks did not die until the 20th century, and Madsen lived to be nearly 100! The law was well-enforced even by the Hollywood cowboys – W.S. Hart (who knew the real West), Tom Mix, Ken Maynard, Johnny Mack Brown, Gene Autry, and many others. The typical scenario was like this: First, the bad guy did his dastardly deed and initially got away with the crime. Next, the good guy gathered evidence and was soon hot on his trail. Then came the inevitable result: the hoosegow or Boot Hill. Welcome to Hard Times is thus strange indeed. For not only did it take away the persona of the hero, but it also gave the bad guy an egocentric place in the overall setting. It may even have helped to give rise to the western anti-hero (á la Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, and others). This movie was filmed in 1966, but not released until the following year. For a long time the old-style western was never the same except mainly for the Duke's work in the 1960s and 1970s. The genre today has not really come back.This off-beat western is supported by a very competent and incredibly well-stocked supporting cast (although they are mostly wasted). Old timers like Edgar Buchanan, Keenan Wynn, John Anderson, Warren Oates, Denver Pyle, Janis Paige and the rest are always a delight to watch. The cinematography is fine, and the dancing girls are attractive enough. But the movie itself just could not represent the real West!

I had high hopes for this, but wound up despising it. This is pacifism with a broad brush, absolutely sophomoric in it's persistent delivering of the kind of message that makes "turn the other cheek" resemble heroism.I just hope impressionable children are not being exposed to this defeatist philosophy.Pushing this movie's obvious message to kids is like passing around the bubonic plague.The actors are first-rate but are squandered here in my opinion.In WWII actors flew bombers or fought for their country on the beaches and were slogging along in the infantry for years in dangerous terrain. Regrettably, things have deeply changed in the USA. Hollywood has become the mouthpiece of the left. This movie was produced in the 60s and bears the stamp of those times, times when the inmates tried to run the asylum--and very nearly succeeded.So watch and enjoy the fine acting in this film, but don't succumb to it's defeatist message.

This is a great Henry Fonda film from 1967 where Fonda plays the role as Mayor Will Blue who is a peace abiding man and hates to use his fists or a weapon against anyone. One day a man visits his town and takes over the entire town, raping women and burning the entire town to the ground. Mayor Will Blue is not very well liked by his town folk, however, he still wants to remain in what is left of his town and refuses to runaway like he has done in his past life. Molly Riordan,(Janice Rule) becomes rather close to Will Blue and also Keenan Wynn, (Zar, Whiskey & Girls) visits the town and opens up a Saloon for prostitutes and booze. Lon Chaney Jr. and Elisha Cook Jr., "I Wake Up Screaming" make very brief appearances in this film but give great supporting roles. This is a great Henry Fonda film which he made when he reached the age of 60 years and was beginning to find very few roles on the Silver Screen and then decided to perform on the Broadway Stage in New York City. Enjoy.