Apart from "The Hustler" and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the over-rated "All the King's Men", Robert Rossen was never given his proper due, perhaps because his films straddled so many genres without ever finding a solid footing in any one. But he was certainly no jobbing director even if his voice was never as distinctive as a number of more highly acclaimed film-makers who worked during the same time. This large-scale, all-star 'contemporary' western, (it's set in 1916), is one of his most under-valued films. It's about heroism and cowardice and what makes a man choose one road or the other. In this case the men perform 'heroic' deeds but are deeply flawed as human beings. It's not a 'deep' movie but it is very well-crafted and Rossen certainly has a handle on the material.
The central premise, (six men, five of whom are to receive the Congressional Medal of Honour for bravery, and one woman, their prisoner, journey across some particularly wild terrain together), is the stuff of cliché but Rossen keeps us interested in their plight and the cast are top-notch. Hunter, never reckoned to be much of an actor, is surprisingly good as the arrogant young lieutenant while Rita Hayworth, never reckoned to be much of an actress, fails to rise to the occasion here as well. It's also beautifully photographed by Burnett Guffey, who was later to win an Oscar for "Bonnie and Clyde", and it showed Rossen was just as capable of handling a large-scale action picture as he was of handling something as 'interior' as "The Hustler" or "Lilith".
The central premise, (six men, five of whom are to receive the Congressional Medal of Honour for bravery, and one woman, their prisoner, journey across some particularly wild terrain together), is the stuff of cliché but Rossen keeps us interested in their plight and the cast are top-notch. Hunter, never reckoned to be much of an actor, is surprisingly good as the arrogant young lieutenant while Rita Hayworth, never reckoned to be much of an actress, fails to rise to the occasion here as well. It's also beautifully photographed by Burnett Guffey, who was later to win an Oscar for "Bonnie and Clyde", and it showed Rossen was just as capable of handling a large-scale action picture as he was of handling something as 'interior' as "The Hustler" or "Lilith".