Gary Cooper plays a complex character, a doctor who is living in a town where there is little if any law. One day, an outlaw is chased by a crowd and he would have been hanged had Frail (Cooper) not intervened. This an then becomes his servant. Also in his little band, is a pretty young woman who is falling in love with Frail (but it's not mutual). She goes blind for a period of time because of exposure to the sun. The bunch become gold miners and have little luck at first. Then, one day, their luck changes. What happens at the end is some fine storytelling. Probably the star of this film is the music. There is a haunting theme song that comes and goes throughout the movie.

The Religious Allegories, both Subtle and Overt, are everywhere in this Gary Cooper Western Swan Song. There are references to Snakes, Seeing the Light, the Hanging Tree might as well be from the Garden of Eden, and so on. The Final Scenes after Gold is Discovered, could be something out of Cecil B. Demille.Maria Schell as the Angelic, Sojourner is Superb with a Soulful Performance. It's the Film Debut for George C. Scott as a Fundamentalist that thinks Doctors are Demons sent from Hell. Karl Malden is the Good Doctor's Antagonist and Plays the Lecherous Villain for all its worth.Christian Hypocrisy is in Full View in front of the Wide Open but Confined Landscape of the Gold Mining Town and is used Effectively by the Director. Max Steiner's Score is subtly Effective. Filmed in Color but Forgoes Cinemascope with a more Claustrophobic 3x4 giving it a Trapped or Enclosed Feel.The Characterizations are Sharp and it's more Dramatic than most Westerns, concerned with lessons in Morality and Human Flaws rather than Riding, Roping, Fisticuffs, and Gunplay. A slightly Offbeat and little known Western that is Better than Average, but Never quite Attains Greatness or Classic Status.Note...Country Western stalwart Marty Robbins sings the Title Song...Nominated for an Oscar.

Good setup but poor ending.A doctor, Dr Frail (played by the legendary Gary Cooper), moves into a gold rush town in Montana in the 1870s. He's a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails type with a few skeletons in his past. Then a stagecoach is robbed nearby and its female occupant becomes a patient...Interesting and intriguing from the word go. Gary Cooper is obviously the hero, but for once he is less than perfect. Good action and a hint of romance.Decent, but not great. The story is often uneven, going on tangents, and the plot not always consistent. The ending is so random and silly it almost ruins the movie.Solid performance from Gary Cooper in the lead role. Good support from Maria Schell, Karl Malden and Ben Piazza. George C Scott appears in his first cinematic role (though he had appeared in TV series and a TV movie before this).Only really worth watching if you're a Gary Cooper fan.

I watched my share of westerns when I was a kid, but as an adult, it's a rare western that can hold my attention. This one did.Gary Cooper plays Joseph Frail, a strange mix of a doctor, a gambler, and perhaps a gunslinger. As he rides into a new town he rescues Rune, a sluice robber, from Frenchy (a dirty and nasty man played well by Karl Malden), and makes the young sluice robber an indentured servant. A stagecoach robbery results in the disappearance of Elizabeth Mahler (played well by Maria Schell). She is found by Frenchy (as part of a search party), and he has immoral designs on her. Her time in the wilderness led to skin burns, temporary blindness, and dehydration from overexposure. Dr. Frail treats her, but, as he has a tendency to do, he becomes possessive, and eventually Mahler leaves his protection and teams up with Frenchy and the sluice robber, and they strike gold. Frenchy attacks Mahler, and Frail kills him, resulting in Frail being on the verge of a lynching. Mahler saves him by offering the lynching party all their gold. Cooper is superb here...perhaps one of his best performances. In fact, it's difficult to find a less than good to great performance in the whole film. Definitely one to watch!