Budd Boetticher directs Randolph Scott, Karen Steele and Pernell Roberts in this western where a bounty hunter arrests a killer’s brother in the hope of luring the worse man out for revenge. 

A strange western this. Outwardly it is primary coloured and jovial. Inwardly it is a grim and vicious revenge plot. There’s a satisfying chase structure as Red Indians and gang members relentlessly pursue the group of “heroes”. And further tensions amongst the protagonists, as everyone has their own devious end games for the bounty. Characters are superficially polite and respectful to each other but their back stories are all dark and twisted, out of sync with what is depicted on screen. As they race towards civilisation together, maybe the point is they need to put all the savagery, hate, lawlessness and vengeance of their own pasts behind them if they want to make new lives. A fair point. On the whole what makes this particularly interesting to modern eyes is smaller turns from Lee Van Cleef and James Coburn, plus a striking female lead in Karen Steele.

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