See it - William Holden plays his trademark role as a smooth-talking womanizer caught in a war he doesn't want to be a part of. He's a rich cattle driver in the Civil War looking to sell his horses to the highest bidder. Richard Widmark plays the eyepatch-wearing Confederate villain. Some might say these two actors can't carry a movie by themselves, but together they are fantastic. The script in this movie is surprisingly sharp and smart. This is rare for a western. The dialogue is very witty and actually pretty funny at times. The movie has also aged very well, meaning that it is still relevant and doesn't have that "old" feel to it. For example, the things that are supposed to be funny are funny, etc. The only problem with this movie is that there's not much action until the end. This is easily forgivable because of the good story. After seeing the movie, I immediately compared it to Horse Soldiers, which Holden co-starred in with the Duke. Worth seeing once. 2 out of 5 action rating

This is a movie dominated by Whitmark & Holden. To say anything other is to deny the facts of the films. The cast and acting keeps you here watching the movie. This film is for the cast's fans only.The script is another matter. This movie appears to have started shooting with out a real script making up stuff along the way. William Holden was totally frustrated during filming. He took his copy of the script & tried to stick it in his horse where the sun don't shine, he had so little respect for it.There is a bridge explosion sequence on this movie in which the bridge looks much like the bridge in the Horse Soldiers that Holden had done years earlier with John Wayne. I am not sure if they used the same set area or the same people to build the bridge as in both movies the bridge is blown up.

I love the movie itself; however, it does seem to keep the Civil War alive even though the event was closed out 142 years ago. I saw the movie while attending a Southwestern military academy back in the late 1970s. Some of the cadets from the Southern states like Texas didn't like it when a Union sniper up in a tree shot one of the Confederate calvary men who was escorting the cattle. After the Union sniper was brought down by Colonel Rossiter (Richard Widmark), they chapped while those of us from the Northern states booed it. One of my teachers at the school kept saying that the South will rise again. If people from the South don't like the U.S. military because they lost the war, then maybe they should not join the military because then they would have to wear the blue uniforms of the United States Air Force, the Marine Corp dress blues), and the Army (the Old Presidential Guard dress blues) since they called the Northern Soldiers "blue bellies."

This film starts very well showing William Holden as a man taking no part in the civil war, because he does not identify with either side. He also is better than anyone in delivering herds of cattle, being paid extremely well. Richard Widmark is a confederate officer who places his cause above everything else. The relationship between both of them could be the material for a great epic, but it finishes too soon for what it started. Another 30 minutes might have done it. There are two beauties , Janice Rule and Victoria Shaw and their brief appearance is like an appetizer for a meal that does not show up. The film is interesting and well made, but incomplete