The music in this very low budget D grade Saturday matinee western is often overpowering and especially annoying in the first and final parts of the film where it's strictly an organ, and one that sounds like it's beyond tuning. The story isn't bad, and the theme, of survival in the dreary looking black and white desert, is one that's pretty impressive. The story deals with a federal agent searching for the bad guy, guilty of the theft of government gold, and their efforts to outwit the other in the snake infested desert heat.
The leading hero is Don "Red" Barry, a B western veteran who could play these types of roles in his sleep, and he is definitely great. Tom Neal, who'd already played a bunch of heavies (most notably the antihero of the film noir classic "Detour") is as bad as bad can be, and genuinely one dimensional. All the typical clichés of the genre are there with a very dreary stalking sequence between the two where the organ returns to great annoyance. This type of score worked better for silents and adds nothing to the film overall except the temptation of the viewer to hit the fast forward button.
The leading hero is Don "Red" Barry, a B western veteran who could play these types of roles in his sleep, and he is definitely great. Tom Neal, who'd already played a bunch of heavies (most notably the antihero of the film noir classic "Detour") is as bad as bad can be, and genuinely one dimensional. All the typical clichés of the genre are there with a very dreary stalking sequence between the two where the organ returns to great annoyance. This type of score worked better for silents and adds nothing to the film overall except the temptation of the viewer to hit the fast forward button.