Jornada da Morte

Pecos businessman Matt Gardner is buying up freighters, or wagon trains of food supplies, at cheap prices through intimidation, and charging high prices by deliberately causing phony food shortages at his trading posts. The only one refusing to sell his supplies is Zack Sibley, who is dead set on maintaining his freighter business as well as tracking down his father's murderer, his ex-business partner. Gardner plans on eliminating any competition Sibley presents by sending his thugs to kill him and raid his wagon train.

Visually, this is quite impressive, the harsh, unforgiving land seems to envelope around the wagon train, lending some grit - there's an effective scene of a Comanche arrow hitting the wood and the scene quickly fades away. Next minute we see Holt riding into the burnt stage station.

A fairly entertaining RKO western that has the appeal of Tim Holt's youthful charm and his chemistry with Martha O Driscoll. There's some gorgeous location photography (It was filmed in Kanab, Utah and in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California) and some good characterisation.