Peace-loving Sven Hanson is one of a number of farmers whom Ed McNeil (Sebastian Cabot) wants to run off their land because he knows there's oil on it . While McNeil's gunfighter , Johnny Crale (Nedrick Young) commits grisly killings against villagers and countrymen . Then , Hanson's friend Pepe Mirada (Victor Millan) hides his knowledge of the killer's identity in order to protect his family . When George Hanson (Robert Mitchum) arrives in Prairie City and takes up his dad's cause , not only Mirada but also Johnny Crale start changing their minds . When the Texas Plains Ran With Blood and Black Gold! Harpoon against Six-Gun! A savage duel!..For The Black Gold That Flowed Under The Blood-Drenched Land! Harpoon against Six-Gun !...in the most savage duel the ever ripped the Texas.
An interesting time-passer , where snappy and engaging dialog run through-out . This notable , meaty Western contains attractive plot , intrigue , a fine ensemble cast , along with a non-traditional , minimalistic soundtrack and resulting to be entertaining enough . It starts with the opening credits : The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious and any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely accidental and unintentional . Outstanding Western balances action , suspense and drama ; being probably one of the strangest Western in the fifties and sixties . It's a classical recounting about a strange visitor who is really an expert harpoon thrower surrounded by cowards and frightening people . The highlights of the film are the climatic shootouts , and , of course , the final showdown between the harpoonist and the gunslinger . The traditional story and exciting screenplay was well written by Dalton Trumbo , who often used pseudonyms as Ben Perry or Millard Kauffman , that's why he had been blacklisted as a subversive , being pursued by House Un-American Activities Committee o House Committee on Un-American Activities or HUAC during the McCarthy Red Scare time . The enjoyable tale is enhanced for interesting moments developed among main characters and especially on the peculiar relationships among the main characters played by Robert Mitchum , Nedrick Young , Carol Kelly and Sebastian Cabot . Magnificently performed by Robert Mitchum as a Swedish whaler is out for vengeance when he finds out that a greedy oil man murdered his father for their land , while their enemies start reevaluating their attitudes . Mitchum is an awesome expert in the art of conjuring sensational acting without overacting , here he's joined with other nice players , in this atypical but thought-provoking western with a lot of reflection , distinguished moments and dramatical attitudes , in addition a multitude of entertaining situations . Top-notch plethora of secondary actors playing vicious, sadistic sociopaths who take advantage of the frightened townspeople , such as Sebastian Cabot and Nedrick Young . Furthermore , the unknown Carol Kelly , Eugene Martin and the regular secondary Frank Ferguson .
A well made film with perfect cinematography in black and white by Ray Rennahan . As well as atmospheric , exciting musical score by composer by Gerald Fried , it is competently performed , no strings or other big orchestra elements , but consisting of mostly solo horn , trumpet , tympanic sounds , acoustic guitar and percussion. Masterfully directed by Joseph H Lewis who chooses all the right angles for a real impact and never puts a wrong foot . Lewis was a B craftsman who directed a lot of films of all kinds of genres with a penchant for Noir movies, with his masterpiece : Gun Crazy , as he made Drama, Thriller, Action, Western , such as Terror in a Texas town, 7th cavalry, The Halliday brand, A lawless street, Cry of the hunted, Retreat hell, Desperate search , A lady without passport, The undercover man, So dark the night, My name is Julia Ross, The mad doctor of Market Street, The gang of mine and his greatest hits were The Big Combo and Gun Crazy . Rating 7/10. Better than average . Essential and indispensable watching for Robert Mitchum fans and Western aficionados .
