Rawhide is a moderately suspenseful hostage drama with polished direction, great location filming, and a fine cast.
Tyrone Power is a likable if somewhat bland hero.
On the other hand, Susan Hayward's character was kind of annoying in the beginning but softens a bit as the film progresses. I wish the writers would have made her a strong independent woman without making the character look like a brat.
Hugh Marlowe is an excellent actor but I didn't find him a very convincing villain, even an an outlaw banker! Then again, it's probably my own fault in that I can't look at him without thinking of him as the hero in Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers. One scene where he delivered was when he was pretending to be a lawman, talking to the newspaper reporter and he had to fight back his anger at the men who were gossiping about his treacherous personal life.
A young and lanky Jack Elam steals the show as a dangerous (and lecherous) member of Marlowe's gang. He's great in this!
Overall, this is a decent studio western with an entertaining twist filled climax.
Also, I'd advise viewers who haven't watched this to please skip the trailer as it gives away the ending of the picture!