I don't believe this short western is officially regarded as a remake of the equally short 1939 "Frontier Marshal". But, after checking my notes on F.M., I found it amazing how many details they have in common, so many that I clearly would label it as a remake. Of course, there are plenty of differences, as well, one being that this was shot in color vs. the B&W of F.M.. Another is that the supposed location for F.M. is Tombstone A.Z., vs. Powder River, for the present film. Well, it turns out there are two famous Powder Rivers in the NW quadrant of the US. One is famous today as having the richest, cheapest, coal mines in the US, and is located in NE Wyoming and SE Montana. The other is located in the Blue Mountains of NE Oregon, and is well known since the Civil War for it's placer gold. In contrast, I'm not aware of any important gold deposits in the Wyoming Powder River area, although the Black Hills are not far to the east. Thus, I would favor Oregon, although it's mentioned that the Homestead Mine is nearby. Well, THE Homestead mine is located in the Black Hills. Typical Hollywood confusion of that era! At least parts of the action were filmed in Glacier National Park, in NW Montana. Instead of Wyatt Earp and Doc Halliday of F.M., we have facsimiles in Chino Bull(Wyatt-like)and Mitch(Doc Holliday-like). In this film, they have trouble deciding whether they want to be friends or enemies. We see some of each throughout the film, like reluctant buddies. Both films have the Doc-like character suffering from a chronic health problem: TB in F.M. and a brain tumor, causing periodic blackouts, in the present film. In both films, the Doc-like character is scripted as a gunslinger/medical doctor combo, whereas the real Doc was a doctor of dentistry. In both films, the Doc-like character uses his medical knowledge to save a life.Roy Calhoun plays Chino, while a flamboyant Cameron Mitchell plays Mitch. An equally flamboyant Corinne Calvet plays Frenchie: the sometimes owner of one of the saloons. Penny Edwards plays the prim blond "good" girl arriving from the East, come to take Mitch back East. However, she appears to end up with Chino. Gold is mostly what the fighting is all about: both Chino's stolen gleanings and a $300,000.gold shipment on the stage. Chino's mining buddy, Johnny, is killed(by whom?) and the gold stolen while Chino is away. This murder and robbery induced Chino to give up mining to become the new town marshal.One gripe I have is that the stage gold shipment segment is underplayed. When the stage is on a flatboat ferry, crossing a river, the bad guys cut the towline attached to a horse that pulls the boat across. They also shoot the horse driver. The stage then is swept downstream toward a rapids. Chino finds a spare rope and swims to shore attaching it to a flimsy-looking long dead small tree. Even supposing it held the raft against the current, it's unclear how they got it to shore, unless they found the horse and attached the rope to it. One horse hardly seemed enough. Also, why did the bad guys decide to abandon their very lucrative quest when the rope was attached to that tree??I regard this film as even more interesting than "Frontier Marshal" In fact, it's one of my favorite westerns, despite its clear B status. I won't give away the unusual climactic ending.Available at YouTube and an expensive DVD.

I'm not really a fan of Rory Calhoun, but I enjoyed his character in this picture. It tells a story with a bit more depth and a few surprises, while still providing action, romance and some terrific western scenery. While Calhoun's character, Chino Bull, is still country-suave and in control, he doesn't convey the snide quality that was an undercurrent in his later television work. The story line carries some standard western baggage, but at the same time it veers away with unexpected plot developments that were a bit more sophisticated than the type of that era, presaging the so-called "adult westerns" that became the standard in the 1950s and '60s. The female characters, unfortunately, are given the usual supportive roles. Still, it's an interesting story against some beautiful backgrounds.

I saw this film when I was twelve, 1955, and remember not having liked it. I saw it again recently and thought it was quite good. I guess, when twelve I was too impressed with Mitch Hardin, the character played by Cameron Mitchell, who suffers from a brain tumor, and that got me kind of depressed. But really, this western is basically another variation of "Frontier Marshall", "My Darling Clementine" etc. etc. Mitch Hardin has his roots in Doc Holliday, same way Frenchie Dumont (Corinne Calvet) can be compared to Chihuahua (Linda Darnell) and Pennie Edwards is another Clementine. But there are a lot of interesting changes made to the basic story which provides this western with many action scenes, and a sort of unpredictability not present in the usual western. There are some great moments like when the stagecoach is going adrift in the river, and when Calhoun grabs the gun of the bad guy. Calhoun is excellent in his role, of course based on Wyatt Earp.

Rory Calhoun was a staple hero in all kinds of films during the 50s. His performances were always great, abetted by his handsome, rugged looks and the ease into which he fit into a number of hero roles. In this one, a kind of standard western, he plays an ex-lawman who returns to the trade when his partner is killed. During the time he cleans up the town, defeats bad guys played by veteran character actors Carl Betz and John Dehner, gets his semi-revenge, on the antihero, played by Cameron Mitchell, wows the French bombshell, Corinne Calvert and, of course, gets the girl. It's great 50s entertainment with a total lack of CGI action, extensive blood and gore and good honest villains and good guys. (*sigh) They just don't make movies like this any more. Watch for it on the late show. There's no DVD or video listed. Calhoun was always worth the price of admission.