rooster_davis I've seen this movie rated as 1 1/2 stars on the 5-scale in some places but it's much, much better than that. True, it's a low budget film, but it doesn't take a big budget to come up with a good script and people who know how to play their roles with conviction. This movie has one of the best fistfight scenes I've seen in a long time, with the big mirror behind the bar as the first casualty - followed by chairs, the front window of the saloon, and a lot of wear and tear on Brock Mitchell and Miley Sutton (played by John Derek and John Smith respectively) who end up being dragged down the street beneath a wagon. This is a movie with good guys you like and bad guys you like to hate. It may be a low budget film, but I've seen some with much bigger budgets that I didn't like anywhere near as much. This one is well worth your time - get out the popcorn and enjoy a good Western.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) An excellent director (Gerd Oswald, who also directed A Kiss Before Dying), excellent cinematographer Joseph LaShelle (River of No Return and Marty among many others) and great performances by John Derek and Nick Adams make this an outstanding western. Derek is Brock Mitchell a rancher who was just released from jail, where he was because he killed a man in self defense. Nick Adams is Tracy, his brother. The fact is that the man Brock killed is the brother of an important man in town who will do everything he can against him. One way out would be for Brock to go away to a distant place, but there are certain reasons for him to stay, like paying the loan Tracy took to develop the ranch, which will not be difficult considering the railroad is going to pass there. It will be just a question of getting a letter from the railroad confirming the deal, but time is running against them. Another reason is that Brock loves Ginny, whose father is against him because he thinks he killed because of jealousy. One more reason is that Brock needs the sense of belonging, that he feels in his home town. There is a heavy ambiance, increased by the black and white cinematography.

classicsoncall It would be easy to characterize the film as a brother out for revenge Western but it's more complex than that. In fact the movie surprises with a whole lot more attention to detail than you'd expect from a 1950's effort, from Brock's extended barroom brawl to the place names depicted on the businesses of Showdown Creek. I was particularly intrigued by the presence of the Lin Yee Chinese Dining Room, even if the Mitchell brothers never made it there. They thought about it though.What IS standard is the set up between town lawyer Deasey (Gage Clark) and Brock Mitchell (John Derek), recently released from the Buckhorn County Jail for killing Deasey's brother in a forced gunfight that occurred before the picture opens. Derek portrays the same kind of hot head he played in 1949's "Knock On Any Door", his first lead role in company with Humphrey Bogart. Deasey is clever enough to use just about any mis-step by Brock to turn town sentiment against him, beginning with the Tom Williams incident. Brock simmers in a slow boil for most of the story, as more rational younger brother Tracy (Nick Adams) tries to steer him to make the right decisions along the way. The pairing of Adams and Derek as brothers was really quite a neat casting decision; they complemented each other nicely and appeared believable as siblings.More on that barroom brawl - it's probably one of the longest one on one fight scenes you'll ever see in a Western, and it looked authentic from start to finish. You wondered how the smaller Brock Mitchell would come out against Deasey's hired henchman Miley Sutton (John Smith), but there was enough furniture on hand to provide the equalizer. The spill out into the street leading to the buckboard drag is probably the most creative finale you'll see, but then they still kept going at it. You know, I had to chuckle when the fight got started, the first thing to go was the large mirror behind the bar. Watching the picture on the Encore Western Channel, one of the True Western Moments iterated by Bob Boze Bell in between movies talks about how scenes just like that were more the stuff of Hollywood invention than the real thing.As the story progresses, the viewer learns just how greasy a character Chad Deasey is; say now, greasy Deasey, that works. Not only was he constantly undermining Brock, but he detained railroad man Phelps with a phony letter and indirectly caused the death of Tracy. It was fitting that he didn't die in the movie's finale, but would have to face the music after all the facts became known. Good ending, but did you notice? - Miley Sutton's small bag of payoff money turned into enough coins on the street to fill a small strong box!

Gregor Hauser (gregorhauser) This western has a very small budget.But the story and the actors are as powerful and motivated as it were a blockbuster.John Derek delivers a convincing portrait of a young man full of goodwill and also full of wrath. He is perfect for the leading part. His supporting cast - although not so well known - is a good one. Especially Nick Adams and the actor who plays the sheriff.Gerd Oswald directed a couple of movies with stories of high morality. This one is his best.The story is about a man who was in prison for manslaughter. He tries to come back to society and to his profession as a farmer but there is a man who wants revenge for the death of his brother...Village people are not very happy too...