Delmer Daves directs Glenn Ford, Van Heflin and Richard Jaeckel in this classic western where a down on his luck farmer signs up to escort a charming killer to jail, only as the fee will save the family farm.

One of those rare occasions where I actually prefer the overblown modern remake to the original – the Russell Crowe version explores the distinctive characters even further and adds a ton of big budget action – but only just. This first attempt to adapt Elmore Leonard’s flavoursome short story is more a nail in the post off which hangs quirky moments of frontier moralising, temptation and seduction. It feels biblical at times, biblical with a shotgun. And that ain’t no bad thing.

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