Sam Fuller directs Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan and Gene Barry in this western where a cattle woman with a town at her feet falls for the alpha male who begrudgingly cleans things up.

A bizarre mixture of the Wyatt Earp legend and a Great Expectations style gothic romance, this is a strangely endearing film. I’m still wrapping my head around Sam Fuller as an auteur and his punk-ish, pop art sensibilities here grinds hard against the more interesting themes of the tale. He shoots everything from experimental angles via gun rifles and between legs (Leone’s trademark eye close ups arrive here 5 years early too) – and it is the kind of drumbeat speed melodrama where anything and everything can happen quickly. The energetic action, storytelling and framing is infectious but this isn’t your father’s Western despite its vintage. So many powerful moments deserve mention…. including a 5 minute tracking shot leading to a suicide, Stanwyck’s horseback posse introduction, a tornado that chases our heros into a tryst and a town riot that feels more like a cowboy themed angel dust party. Sexually aware and with some hinky gender politics, this is a real curate’s egg for the viewer to pick through. Fun though.

7