This Western had one particular thing going for it that really stood out. Every time there was a wide shot of the town, there were not large numbers of people walking around the streets. Perfect! In most Westerns, there are way too many people all over town. At this time in history, when 95% of the population worked on farms, it is just totally unrealistic the way directors put so many people in town. This movie was right on the mark. Well done. Some reviews say it was too slow. Well, it wasn't a time of the internet and instant everything. Things moved slower as did the pace of the movie, which seemed appropriate. As I have mentioned in my reviews of other Westerns, I still have a problem the way actors are dressed. Costumes seem to be "cowboy" attire taken from the 1930's and put in stories from late 1800s. This includes saddles and bridles. Having it in black and white gave it a nice "old time" feel.

I've seen this movie rated as 1 1/2 stars on the 5-scale in some places but it's much, much better than that. True, it's a low budget film, but it doesn't take a big budget to come up with a good script and people who know how to play their roles with conviction. This movie has one of the best fistfight scenes I've seen in a long time, with the big mirror behind the bar as the first casualty - followed by chairs, the front window of the saloon, and a lot of wear and tear on Brock Mitchell and Miley Sutton (played by John Derek and John Smith respectively) who end up being dragged down the street beneath a wagon. This is a movie with good guys you like and bad guys you like to hate. It may be a low budget film, but I've seen some with much bigger budgets that I didn't like anywhere near as much. This one is well worth your time - get out the popcorn and enjoy a good Western.

It would be easy to characterize the film as a brother out for revenge Western but it's more complex than that. In fact the movie surprises with a whole lot more attention to detail than you'd expect from a 1950's effort, from Brock's extended barroom brawl to the place names depicted on the businesses of Showdown Creek. I was particularly intrigued by the presence of the Lin Yee Chinese Dining Room, even if the Mitchell brothers never made it there. They thought about it though.What IS standard is the set up between town lawyer Deasey (Gage Clark) and Brock Mitchell (John Derek), recently released from the Buckhorn County Jail for killing Deasey's brother in a forced gunfight that occurred before the picture opens. Derek portrays the same kind of hot head he played in 1949's "Knock On Any Door", his first lead role in company with Humphrey Bogart. Deasey is clever enough to use just about any mis-step by Brock to turn town sentiment against him, beginning with the Tom Williams incident. Brock simmers in a slow boil for most of the story, as more rational younger brother Tracy (Nick Adams) tries to steer him to make the right decisions along the way. The pairing of Adams and Derek as brothers was really quite a neat casting decision; they complemented each other nicely and appeared believable as siblings.More on that barroom brawl - it's probably one of the longest one on one fight scenes you'll ever see in a Western, and it looked authentic from start to finish. You wondered how the smaller Brock Mitchell would come out against Deasey's hired henchman Miley Sutton (John Smith), but there was enough furniture on hand to provide the equalizer. The spill out into the street leading to the buckboard drag is probably the most creative finale you'll see, but then they still kept going at it. You know, I had to chuckle when the fight got started, the first thing to go was the large mirror behind the bar. Watching the picture on the Encore Western Channel, one of the True Western Moments iterated by Bob Boze Bell in between movies talks about how scenes just like that were more the stuff of Hollywood invention than the real thing.As the story progresses, the viewer learns just how greasy a character Chad Deasey is; say now, greasy Deasey, that works. Not only was he constantly undermining Brock, but he detained railroad man Phelps with a phony letter and indirectly caused the death of Tracy. It was fitting that he didn't die in the movie's finale, but would have to face the music after all the facts became known. Good ending, but did you notice? - Miley Sutton's small bag of payoff money turned into enough coins on the street to fill a small strong box!

Excellent collaboration between Oscar-winning cinematographer Joseph LaShelle and competent director Gerd Oswald tip the scales on the plus side for this B+ western. The big old Columbia western town set never looked more authentic. Dig the dogs harassing the stagecoach horses. The tracking shots and camera set-ups are all A picture quality. Note the use of the extras. Not the usual aimless wandering, but natural and with attitude. We often see the action from their point of view. Good stuff. The story needs it because their ostracizing of the young hero strains credulity. John Derek is a misunderstood hothead who wants to cool off but they won't let him. Very 50s. He and Nick Adams are very good and quite believable as brothers. The action (aka violence) is unpredictable, well-staged and bloody. The good musical score, played mainly by a lonesome harmonica and guitar, is by another Oscar winner, Harry Sukman. Was the last shot a happy accident or planned? It works.