A dysfunctional group of outlaws flee a posse and find themselves holed up in the recently-deserted town of Quantez, near the Mexican border. They aren’t sure why the town was deserted; but they’ve lost one horse, the rest are winded and their hopes to find fresh mounts dashed.
The little band includes gang leader Heller (John Larch), a man with a nasty attitude and a nastier temper; Teach, a good-looking young man from the East with lots of bravado, but a lot to learn about the West; Gato, a white man raised by Indians who isn’t sure where his allegiance lies; and Chaney (Dorothy Malone), a burned-out dance hall girl who latches onto Heller as her last chance to make it big, even though he treats her like no more than a pretty plaything.
Finally, there’s Gentry, the character played by Fred MacMurray. He’s really John Coventry, an infamous killer looking to turn around his life, with little success. He’s the philosopher and mediator of the angry little band, convincing Heller not to kill Gato and Teach when they’re at odds, convincing Chaney it’s never too late to turn her own life around, and helping a minstrel make a break for safety when it’s clear that Heller would kill him in a heartbeat to steal his horse.
Then they learned the truth. The town is deserted because it’s surrounded by Apaches, and the stolen loot they’ve been connving over isn’t going to help one little bit in getting them out of this jam.
Review:
Short on action, long on tension and talk, this little film works well if you’re not craving a Western filled with gunfights and a high body count. MacMurray’s character is a mite too philosophical, but you’ll find yourself rooting for Chaney, hating Heller (he rips an earring from her ear at one point) and hoping the poor traveling salesman who stumbles into this mess makes it out alive.
And the film’s climax is marked by one of the more unique — and gallant — endings you’ll find in a Western.
If John Barton, the minstrel, looks and sounds familiar, it could be because he played a grandfather in two well-known Westerns, albeit 13 years apart — “The Misfits” starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe in 1961 and “Yellow Sky” starring Gregory Peck and Richard Widmark in 1948.
Directed by:
Harry Keller
Cast:
Fred MacMurray … Gentry
John Larch … Heller
Dorothy Malone … Chaney
John Gavin … Teach
Sydney Chaplin … Gato
James Barton … Minstrel
Michael Ansara … Delgadito
Runtime: 80 min.
“The Lonely One”
sung by James Barton
Memorable lines:
Gentry to Heller: “There was no need to kill. Men ride longer over blood than money.”
Heller to Teach, who’s trying to move in on Chaney: “When I own a piece of land, I don’t intend to have a neighbor cultivate it for me.”
Teach, to Gentry: “Look, I appreciate you teaching me some things. But I can care for my own soul.”
Gentry, after breaking up a fight between Heller and Teach: “Figuring how none of us know what the situation here really is, best not start making ourselves fewer.”
Heller: “Don’t you hate the thought of dying over something not your business.”
Gentry: “I just hate the thought of killing.”
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