Will Tenneray and Abe Cross are two aging, famous gunfighters, both in need of money. Tenneray comes up with the idea to stage a duel to the death in a bullfight arena, with the ticket proceeds going to the winner.
Acting
Kirk Douglas doing full Shakespearean gravitas in a B-movie.
Direction
Lamont Johnson wringing pathos from a deeply silly premise.
Writing
The absurdity of turning murder into ticketed entertainment.
Director
Lamont Johnson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Johnny Cash only took the role because Kirk Douglas personally called him; he'd never acted in a Western before.
This flopped so hard it killed the 'aging gunfighter' subgenre for a decade—until Unforgiven resurrected it with actual Oscar gold.
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