Anthony Quinn plays Dave Robles, a Mexican who was wronged by four gunslingers in Del Rio, then became one himself in order to get vengeance.
He arrives in Mesa looking for Dan Ritchey, whom he dispatches in short order. But in Mesa, he also finds two people who will change his life.
First there’s Ed Bannister, an aging gunman who has opened a saloon and dreams of being boss of a wide-open cow town with no law.
He wants Robles — or, more specifically, Robles’ gun — on his side as he tries to lure cattlemen away from law-and-order, end-of-the-trail towns and back to Mesa.
The good folks of Mesa offer Robles a sheriff’s badge for the opposite reason. They want Robles to run Bannister out of town, upset over the effect he’ll have on the community.
Then there’s Estella, the doctor’s assistant, a Mexican like Robles. She’s managed to win respect in Mesa; and Robles soon learns it’s a different type of respect than he’s earned with his gun.
Review:
A strong performance by Quinn in the lead role and some unusal touches wind up making this a serviceable Western.
Among those unique touches: Bannister has a spinning wheel to which he attaches playing cards for each fast gun he’d like to hire. As those fast guns meet their maker, he plucks their cards off the wheel.
Then there’s the fate of the sheriff Robles replaces. He’s strung up and swung from a rope. Bannister’s fast guns take turns firing at his body as he dangles.
Unfortunately, the film also suffers from the romantic subplot between Quinn and Jurado. Oh, one can understand why Quinn would make a play for her. It’s her affection for him that seems highly unlikely given his background and the status she’s earned in Mesa.
Directed by:
Harry Horner
Cast:
Anthony Quinn … Dave Robles
Katy Jurado … Estella
Peter Whitney … Ed Bannister
Douglas Fowley … Doc Adams
John Larch … Bill Dawson
Whit Bissell … Breezy Morgan
Douglas Spencer … Sheriff Tillman
Barry Atwater .. Dan Ritchy
Bill Erwin … Roy Higgens
Marc Hamilton … George Dawson
Guinn Williams … Fred Jasper
Carl Thayler … Danny Sheridan
Runtime: 82 min.
Memorable lines:
Bannister, to Robles: “You outdrew Dan Ritchy? I don’t believe it.”
Robles: “Would you like to go to hell and ask him yourself?”
Bannister: “What about my offer? About throwing in with me?”
Robles: “You know, Ed, I like your whiskey. I’m not so sure I like you.”
Bannister: “Go ahead. Find some more big names to kill. And if you don’t get gunned down, you can grow old and see how glory tastes when you’re hungry. I could make you a fortune, you fool. I could set you up for life.”
Estella to Robles, explaining why he’s welcome in Mesa, but only for the time being: “Did you ever clear a house of rats? You throw in a snake and shut the door. But when the rats are gone, you don’t keep the snake for company.”
Breezy to Robles after they’ve polished off a bottle of whiskey: “Well, as my father used to say, when the bottle is dead, go to bed.”
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