This is a really good dark psychological western, not quite film noir like "Pursued", "The Furies" or "The Violent Men", a bit closer to"High Noon" but with a mind of its own. The film deals with Dana Andrews' return to his home town after escaping a lynch mob after he was pulled out of a saloon, accused and convicted without trial for shooting Richard Webb in cold blood. For the missing years, most everyone in town believed him to be the killer, even Webb's sister, Donna Reed, whom Andrews wanted to marry. She's held onto a secret and married Andrews' enemy, Richard Coogan, while several of the town's men are obviously nervous of what will be revealed in the time that sheriff Stephen Elliott gives Andrews to prove his innocence.
This is a very colorful Columbia western with good performances all round and including Whit Bissell, Laurence Hugo and a young Carolyn Jones quite memorable. Dianne Foster is your typical saloon floozy, tough on the outside yet a piece of fluff when dealing with a particular little boy who is important to the story's twists. The ending is rather bittersweet considering the fact that it doesn't end the way you think it might, but justice is served, and that's all that matters.
This is a very colorful Columbia western with good performances all round and including Whit Bissell, Laurence Hugo and a young Carolyn Jones quite memorable. Dianne Foster is your typical saloon floozy, tough on the outside yet a piece of fluff when dealing with a particular little boy who is important to the story's twists. The ending is rather bittersweet considering the fact that it doesn't end the way you think it might, but justice is served, and that's all that matters.