Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

classicsoncall I wouldn't have bet on Tab Hunter involved in one of the better Western movie brawls to come along, but surprisingly, he's got two to his credit here in the latter part of the story. He goes hell bent for leather against Earl Holliman in a rousing battle in the barn at the Old Sampson place, and not long after has a decent tussle with Skip Homeier in which both fall off a cliff ledge into a river below. OK, I know it was their stunt doubles doing the heavy lifting, but they were the principals, so you have to give 'em credit for the close up work.Not only that, but Trace Jordan (Hunter) was also clairvoyant in the picture as well. When the Sutton posse makes it's way to Maria Colton's (Natalie Wood) place, foreman Ben Hindeman (Claude Akins) sends one of his henchmen out to locate a tracker by the name of Lantz (Eduard Franz). Later in the story, Jordan makes reference to Lantz tracking him, but how would he have known that? He wasn't at the Colton place to hear what the foreman said.Ah well, not to worry about that too much. Hunter and Wood make for an engaging screen couple for the teen crowd, though I don't know how many teenagers would have been Western fans in the fifties. I guess if you were a fan of the principals you might show up. Both stars looked good on screen, with Hunter doing a beefcake scene when Maria patched up his bullet wound. For her part, Wood showed some leg when Hunter's character needed her petticoat to make camouflage boots for their horses. That's something I hadn't seen before; it sounded logical enough but not that practical. Tracker Lantz figured out the ruse, but how did he know it was a petticoat? An old, cut up blanket might have worked just as well.

dougdoepke Two young lovers flee a murderous rancher's posse. In 1956, Warner Bros. paired up two of their most promising young contract players in this movie and one other, The Girl He Left Behind. Unfortunately for the studio, neither film caught fire. Hunter certainly had the All-American good looks but in the acting department was no James Dean, while Wood's struggle here with a Mexican accent amounts to little more than an honest effort.Wisely, the studio stacked the dialog with a veteran supporting cast—Akins, Franzen, and Teal —who carry most of the lines. At the same time, was there ever a better nasty young punk than the great Skip Homeier, who could hold his own with any heavyweight actor. Also, it's too bad the young Earl Holliman didn't have matinée good looks because he could have injected real feeling into Trace's pivotal part.The cast itself gets to ride around greater LA in a generally non-scenic Technicolor Western. However, the showpiece brawl over the big rocks and into the roaring river is a real doozy. Hunter certainly earned his salary with that one. Then too, Franzen's Indian tracker is nicely conceived and adds a good ironical touch to the fairly predictable outcome.All in all, the movie amounts to little more than a minor vehicle for two of the studio's attractive young stars. The talented Wood, at least, would go on to bigger and better things.

audiemurph Ugh. This is one tiresome Western. Now I love Westerns, but not this one. There is not an iota of clever dialogue, just a boatload of clichés. Tab Hunter, though not unsympathetic, has an emotional range that makes Audie Murphy (my hero) look like Lawrence Olivier. Natalie Wood, though beautiful, has a Mexican accent that sounds heavy Slavic more than anything. The fight scenes go on waaaaay too long, and there is too much filler of men riding horses.The only saving graces are the character actors who make the best out of almost nothing. Skip Homeier is delightfully obnoxious and weaselly as always (see The Gunfighter, for his most memorable role); Claude Akins is dependable; and Earl Holliman looks and sounds like he is Larry the Cable Guy's younger and thinner brother.An odd sub-theme in this film, though not fully explored, is mixed-race breeding. Natalie Wood's mother was Mexican, but her father was a "Yankee" (though she hates all Gringoes). And Eduard Franz's tracker has a mother who is Indian, but a father who is Dutch(!). Weird.Unless you are desperate for a Western fix, skip it, or be prepared to use your fast-forward a lot.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) Probably who saw this western in the fifties, would think of it as above average, in great Cinemascope and not with the typical western actors for the main roles. Tab Hunter would usually be in a western in a supporting role and Natalie Wood, besides "The Searchers" where she was still a child, did not make any westerns that I know about. But both of them came out well, and Natalie as Maria gives us a preview of the famous Maria she would be in "West Side Story". The supporting cast is great, Skip Homeyer, Claude Atkins and Earl Holliman. If you like action scenes, shootouts and fist fights, here you will have plenty. Tab is Trace Jordan who sets up to find the killers of his brother who branded his cattle with JJ. He ends up shooting the big boss Sutton (Ray Teal) in self defense and wounded, has to run away to the hills where he is found by Maria (Natalie). Louis L'Amour wrote a lot of westerns, they are all good entertainment and so is this film. It makes you miss the good old days when there plenty of westerns at the movies.