Robert Sampson is Dave Dunson, a cowboy who rides into a town controlled by Marshal Jim Cogan and promptly gets into trouble by standing up for the people there — included a slow-witted young man (Gary Sneed as Billy) and a woman (Diana Darren as Mavera) who’s just trying to earn enough money waitressing to leave town.
Before you know it, Cogan has tossed Billy in jail for giving Mavera a necklace she admired, albeit without paying for it first. Dunson is tossed in jail for trying to keep the marshal from arresting Billy. And Will Brocious (Jack Nicholson) is already in jail because he’s the son of an outlaw; Cogan figures he must be wanted for something.
Cogan is the reason Mavera wants out of town so desperately — he and his men “disgraced” her in another town years before. Knowing how cruel he can be, she frees the three men, but is unknowingly spotted doing so.
Figuring they owe Mavera, and figuring the marshal will be after her next, the three men chase a stage to get her off it. They succeed, but the driver also tosses down a bag of loot, figuring they’re robbers. Now the marshal has a legitimate reason to track down all four of them, and he quickly sets about doing so.
Review:
Don’t think too much about what the characters do and why they do it. Let’s see, Nicholson’s character is tired of being thrown in jail because of his last name, so he decides to do something to really deserve being thrown in jail? And Mavera is trying to save money so she can leave town to get away from a marshal who then orders her from town so she won’t squeal about his past?
Some folks will likely want to watch this because of Nicholson’s involvement. It actually marked his sixth appearance on the big screen. He’d fair better in the twin 1966 Westerns “The Shooting” and “Ride the Whirlwind.”
As the female lead, this was an unusually large role for Diana Darren, who normally wound up in supporting parts. And, yep, that’s Joel McCrea’s son, Jody, as the deputy who turns on Cogan because of his cruelty. Another problems with the film: Cogan doesn’t seem all that cruel.
Directed by:
John Bushelman
Cast:
Kent Taylor … Marshal Jim Cogan
Diana Darrin … Mavera
Jody McCrea … Deputy Ed Flynn
Robert Sampson … Dave Dunson
Jack Nicholson … Will Brocious
Gary Sneed … Billy
Don Orlando … Frenchy Douchette
Helen Joseph … Ruth Flynn
H. Tom Cain … Mr. Flynn
Robert Hinkle … Dave
Runtime: 60 min.
Memorable lines:
Will Brocious: “I usually accept an invitation to jail without too much fuss. Maybe I’m a little tired of that now.’
Billy to Dave Dunson: “I’d take my hat off to you if it wasn’t already off.”
Will Brocious: “It isn’t love that holds us together, Dunson. It’s hate. Hate for Cogan and all the others like him in all the other towns we’ve ever been in.”
Dave Dunson: “Listen, boy, you’ve been walking on the edge of trouble all your like. Whether you realize it or not, today you just dove in. Maybe you need it. I don’t.”
Will Brocious: “Listen, Dunson. Good and evil in this world don’t walk around with signs on their backs. Now, we’re four little bugs scratching for a hole. Cogan forced us into this, and we got every right to kill him.”
){kind=link}