A peace-loving man named Ben Kane takes a job as deputy marshal of Lords, in the old West. Kane is no lawman, but he accepts the badge because he has an old score to settle with the town's chief trouble-maker. Once on the job, Kane must also deal with a young sharpshooter named Billy Young and a sharp and sassy saloon dancer, Lily.
Acting
Mitchum's effortless gravitas carries the whole thing.
Cinematography
Classic Panavision vistas that breathe.
Writing
Burt Kennedy's dialogue snaps like a whip.
Director
Burt Kennedy
Robert Mitchum
Deputy Ben Kane
Angie Dickinson
Lily Beloit
Robert Walker Jr.
Billy Young
David Carradine
Jesse Boone
Jack Kelly
John Behan
John Anderson
Boone
Paul Fix
Charlie
Willis Bouchey
Doc Cushman
Parley Baer
Bell
Robert Anderson
Gambler
Rodolfo Acosta
Mexican Officer
Deana Martin
Evvie
Christopher Mitchum
Kane's Son (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Burt Kennedy was a legendary screenwriter before directing; this was his sixth feature in three years.
Released at the tail end of classic Hollywood westerns, it straddles old-school morality and the grittier revisionism to come.
US
