Great is the power of the one who is going to take revenge. Revenge gives confidence, revenge spreads its wings in the soul of the one who has decided on her, and her power begins. Any action committed in the name of revenge, acquires tenfold In a quiet and unremarkable town, a tragedy occurred - there was a completely armed attack on a bank, as a result of which one of the bank employees was killed. Fortunately, four robbers were caught and after a quick but fair trial, the good people of this glorious city build a rack. It's a common thing in the Wild West, but the story doesn't end there. It's just beginning. A mysterious stranger, Jim Douglas, arrives in the city to admire the execution of hardened criminals. He traveled a hundred miles and the sheriff is lost in guessing why. The stranger does not look like an idle onlooker, and his view belongs to the murderer. What connects Jim Douglas and four failed bank robbers? Alas, to inflate the intrigue will not work, since the description of the picture in black and white says what all the cheese boron. Yes, the hero Gregory Peck and the four bandits are connected by many things, in particular the chase, which lasts for six months and it began at the very moment when Jim came to his ranch and found his wife there, who was raped and brutally killed, and the locals said that they saw four horsemen nearby - two white, mestizo and an Indian. Under this description fits just four robbers, who the next morning should hang... unless something extraordinary happens and they manage to escape. Of course, something is happening. Of course the bandits are running. Of course, Gregory Peck's hero goes on a chase, but not to put the bandits back in the hands of the law, oh no. Jim Douglas intends to ask each of the four whether he raped his wife and, regardless of the answers, kill the scoundrels.
Oh yes, it would seem that we have a fairly standard film about revenge, which takes place in the days of the Wild West, but this is not quite true. Throughout the film, an analogy is drawn with the biblical story of the crucifixion of Christ, as well as the fact that he, being at death, was able to forgive a thief. Of course, Gregory Peck’s hero isn’t a son of God (that would be weird, wouldn’t it?), he’s just another man of his time. A man who considered himself a judge, a jury, and an executioner in one person. But that's not important. The important thing is that every time Jim Douglas manages to cross paths with his wife’s alleged vigilantes, he sees fear and misunderstanding in the eyes of the latter, which makes one wonder whether they are really killers. Begins to ask this question and the hero of Gregory Pack, who begins to gradually dissipate the bloody veil of madness before his eyes, but what will come to her place? Can it be faith?
However, with the bandits still not so clear. They are murderers, robbers and sometimes shoot unarmed people, sometimes even in the back. Because -- they can. Oh yes, the Wild West was a time when a man's life was worth far less than the bullet from which he was killed.
Everything would be nothing and this film could be a small revelation if not for one, but rather two “buts”. First, acting. It is demonstrated only by the hero of Gregory Peck (although for me he sometimes overdoes with emotions), and a couple of bandits (the scene standing on the knees of the hero Lee Van Cliff, which begs not to kill him, is expensive), while the other actors ... they can not even be called banal extras, since they do not really play and do not even remember, even despite the fact that the writers went out of their way to give the secondary characters some memorable traits of character. Of course, this was the case in most westerns – only a few actors played well, but I still want something more. I always want something more, especially from movies that have potential. Secondly, the writers, and perhaps the director himself, did not tighten the screws enough. There is no ambiguity in this film, which was inherent, for lack of a better example, I will turn to modern cinema, in the same “Angel Falls”, when both characters were extremely ambiguous characters. In this film, the accents from the very beginning are placed and that is why the bandits, who were followed by the hero of Gregory Pack, are simply not sorry. Perhaps that was the idea of trying to forgive scoundrels and scoundrels? Maybe so.
There is a high-quality action in the film. Sharp, fast and very violent. Yes, there is not much of it, but each scene looks tense and memorable, and this is exactly what you expect from paintings of this genre. As for the musical accompaniment, alas, you will hardly hear any memorable and interesting motives here. Everything's not standard. Branchit has something in the background and that's okay. Although it would seem that three people were responsible for the sound. However, I have repeatedly convinced that three is not the best number when it comes to films.
Outcome? It's quite a nice western, where you can brighten up the evening. Unlike my colleague, I’m not going to argue that this is a masterpiece in its genre, because it’s not. In the world there are much more worthy films, including with the participation of the same Gregory Pack, but if you like this genre, I think you should give this film your time.
6 out of 10