Well I don't know if there were more than three or four of the ten wanted men of the title to challenge Randolph Scott in this mid 1950's Western, which played a lot more like an oater from a decade or two earlier. This was not Scott's finest hour, which probably explains only a single outfit change from a plaid shirt to the standard black with white kerchief to wind up the picture. Probably the best reason to tune in is to catch some of the premier Western henchmen of the day chewing it up at the expense of the Stewart (Scott) clan. I think I prefer Richard Boone as a heavy, even though Paladin was a favorite character of mine. The best villain title of the picture goes to Leo Gordon in what could have easily been the second lead in the story to Randolph Scott himself. Gordon's character even turns on his boss Wick Campbell (Boone), showing that you just can't trust a bad guy when it comes to money. Lee Van Cleef and Denver Pyle hadn't hit their peak yet as character actors, and it's cool to see them as part of Gordon's bad guy posse, even if they didn't last long. Skip Homeier makes quick work of Pyle, and Scott unceremoniously wastes Van Cleef's character in a quick gun battle.
As for the main protagonists, I would have to say that the showdown between Randolph Scott and Richard Boone takes the prize as the shortest range shootout ever - about three feet across a wooden table! They were so close they could have actually touched each other. Considering the way the picture started, that probably should have been the finale, but that was left to a Scott vs. Gordon confrontation that ended rather clumsily when the roof fell in. Seriously, Gordon went down under rafters and debris while Scott just stood there watching. I would have re-wound to see what I missed but I caught this on Encore Westerns, so there was no way for a do over.
Oh yeah, there were a couple of romantic angles going on (Homeier and Donna Martel, Scott and Jocelyn Brando), but the chemistry didn't seem right in either case. The picture ended with a double ring ceremony, but even that blew by pretty much off screen and you had to fill in the blanks yourself. All in all, a rather clumsy effort and not one of Randolph Scott's finest hours, though it might have been for Leo Gordon.
As for the main protagonists, I would have to say that the showdown between Randolph Scott and Richard Boone takes the prize as the shortest range shootout ever - about three feet across a wooden table! They were so close they could have actually touched each other. Considering the way the picture started, that probably should have been the finale, but that was left to a Scott vs. Gordon confrontation that ended rather clumsily when the roof fell in. Seriously, Gordon went down under rafters and debris while Scott just stood there watching. I would have re-wound to see what I missed but I caught this on Encore Westerns, so there was no way for a do over.
Oh yeah, there were a couple of romantic angles going on (Homeier and Donna Martel, Scott and Jocelyn Brando), but the chemistry didn't seem right in either case. The picture ended with a double ring ceremony, but even that blew by pretty much off screen and you had to fill in the blanks yourself. All in all, a rather clumsy effort and not one of Randolph Scott's finest hours, though it might have been for Leo Gordon.