Randolph Scott plays John Stewart, an Arizona rancher who has survived attacks by the Apaches, raids by Mexican bandits and the collapse of the cattle market.
Now he’s prospered, helped build the town of Ocatilla and has brought his lawyer brother Adam (Lester Matthews) West from Ohio in hopes of a long period of peace and tranquility.
But Ocatilla saloon owner Wick Campbell (Richard Boone) has long envied Stewart. Now he has another reason to resent him. His nephew and Adam’s son Howie (Skip Homeier) takes an immediate liking to a pretty young senorita named Maria (Donna Martell), and Campbell is anxious to put his own brand on that lass.
You see, Maria’s dad died in Campbell’s saloon and he took her in when she was a child. Now that she’s become a beautiful young woman, he can’t wait to make her his own, despite their age difference. Fearful of Campbell’s intention, Maria takes refuge on John Stewart’s ranch.
From that point on, Campbell has two goals: destroy the Stewarts and get Maria back. And he’s willing to spend a small fortune to hire the fast guns that will help make that happen.
Review:
A strong cast featuring lots of familiar faces — Dennis Weaver, Lee Van Cleef and Leo Gordon all show up in secondary roles — keeps this entertaining in spite of a plot that seems a bit haphazard
Adding to the tension: As the climax nears, John Stewart, his best gal Corrine and most of the leaders of Ocatilla have managed to get themselves bottled up in a freight office under siege by Campbell and his hired guns and it looks like none of them will survive.
This marked the only Western for Jocelyn Brando, owner sister of Marlon Brando, who plays Randolph Scott’s very patient girlfriend. As Maria, Donna Martell adds eye appeal and some pretty bad acting.
Speaking of bad, that would be a good description of the special effects once that two sides start tossing dynamite at one another. Check out the scene in which Scott tosses a stick into a wagon filled with items Frank Scavo and his men have claimed as bounty. The contents are blown out of the wagon bed; the wagon isn’t even damaged!
But, hey, this is a Randolph Scott Western and Richard Boone and Leo Gordon make for fine villains, so you can do much worse.
Directed by:
H. Bruce Humberstone
Cast:
Randolph Scott … John Stewart
Jocelyn Brando … Corinne Michaels
Richard Boone … Wick Campbell
Alfonso Bedoya … Hernando
Donna Martell … Maria Segura
Skip Homeier … Howie Stewart
Lester Matthews … Adam Stewart
Dennis Weaver … Sheriff Gibbons
Kathleen Crowley … Mrs. Marva Gibbons
Leo Gordon … Frank Scavo
Lee Van Cleef … Al Drucker
Tom Powers .. Henry Green
Minor Watson … Jason Carr
Clem Vevans … Tod Grinnel
Runtime: 80 min.
Memorable lines:
Wick Campbell to Maria” “Thinking about you has made me crazy.”
Maria: “I would pray that I were ugly so that you would never look at me again.”
John Stewart: “You know, Campbell, you’re not thinking straight. Since you’ve become a big man, you’ve got the idea everything should be done the way you want it, and that’s dangerous. Better straighten yourself out before somebody does it for you.”
Wick Campbell to John Stewart: “Maybe you were better off in the old days when you took and kept what you wanted with a hard fist and a fast gun.”
John Stewart: “Campbell’s grown as big as he can within the law. Now he’s using violence to take him to the top. I’m standing in his way.”
Corrine Michaels: “If I’m to die, I want it all at once. And with you. I’m not going any place else to die in little pieces.”
){kind=link}