Gary Cooper plays Reb Hollister, a former Confederate officer, now a wanted man because he refuses to buckle under to the carpetbaggers who rule the Southern states after the war.
He fakes his own death, then joins up with Marshal Martin Weatherby. An Easterner, Weatherby has been dispatched to Dallas because of trouble brewing there.
Hollister’s interesting in riding along when he finds out the root of the trouble might be the Marlow brothers, Brant and Will. During the war, the Marlows torched Hollister’s Georgia plantation. His father and sister were never found.
The Marlows now have their eyes on a ranch owned by Don Felipe Robles. It just so happens, Marshal Weatherby is engaged to his lovely young daughter, Tonia. Hollister takes one look at Tonia and decides he might have to do something about that, too.
Review:
An entertaining Cooper Western, with enough subplots to keep it from becoming totally predictable.
The phony gunfight that results in Hollister’s “death” and Wild Bill Hickok’s ensuing meeting with the derby-wearing marshal from back East provide some early laughs.
So does the arrival at the Robles ranch, after Hollister and Weatherby have traded identities. That means Hollister gives Tonio the warmest of welcomes while her confused fiance looks on.
In another of the better plot twists, Hollister corners supposedly honest businessman Will Marlow into putting a price on the head of his far more obviously crooked brother, Bryant.
Barbara Payton has a small role as Bryant’s lover, who lures Hollister into a trap at one point by pretending to be the wife of a man he killed. In real life, she supposedly had affairs with both Cooper and Cochran during filming.
Directed by:
Stuart Heiser
Cast:
Gary Cooper … Blayde “Reb” Hollister
Ruth Roman … Tonia Robles
Steve Cochran … Bryant Marlow
Raymond Massey … Will Marlow
Barbara Payton .. Flo
Leif Erickson … U.S. Marshal Martin Weatherby
Antonio Moreno … Don Felipe Robles
Jerome Cowan … Matt Coulter
Reed Hadley … Wild Bill Hickok
Gil Donaldson … Luis Robles
Runtime: 94 min.
Memorable lines:
Wild Bill Hickock, explaining his decision to quit the law to star in a Wild West Show to Weatherby, an Eastern dude: “If you’re what marshalling has petered down to, I reckon folks back East will be happy to see the real, hairy thing.”
Bryant Marlow, pulling a gun on Hollister: “Just rearing to ride, huh?”
Blayde Hollister: “Yeap. Too much getty-up and not enough whoa.”
Bryant Marlow: “Remember how you poured it into Cullen?”
Blayde Hollister: “You’re rushing me, but I’ll try.”
Marlow: “Just take your time. I never did like to eat my striped candy too quick.”
Flo to Bryant Marlow: “You’d get your pockets picked in a graveyard.”
Matt Coulter: “Will’s in the clear. You were there. He promised to post a reward for Bryant’s capture.”
Blayde Hollister: “I’d hate to hang by my toes til you do.”
Blayde Hollister: “Dogs that ain’t killed sheep don’t run.”
Tonio Robles: “You’re making a noose for yourself. This house will tells its secrets.”
Will Marlow: “Ashes don’t tell secrets.”
){kind=link}