BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Wizard-8 Normally I love westerns, and I am willing to accept some flaws in them, but I found this particular western a chore to sit through. The lead performances, for one thing, hurt the movie. Now, I am not saying that Peppard and Martin were miscast, but they were not directed well here. Peppard seems out of place, while Martin does not come across as ruthless enough to be believable as a villain.But what really hurts the movie is the script. The mix between comic sequences and brutal action do not fit together very well. Also, the first half of the movie is almost all talk talk talk, and not very interesting talk. And Peppard's character doesn't do anything in that first half to try and change the desperate situation. Things do pick up somewhat in the last part of the second half, but it's too little too late.By the way, Leonard Maltin's video guide branded this movie as "gory", but by today's standards it's not very bloody.

donwc1996 Off beat casting of Dean Martin as the town tyrant who, among other things wants the stagecoach line that his former lover, Jean Simmons, currently owns. In steps George Peppard, playing a former deputy, who comes to town and eventually gets caught up in things when his better sense tells him that he shouldn't stay. Simmons plays a hand in this. Slim Pickens, who usually played good guys, played one of Matin's henchmen. The film gets rather violent--especially the fight scene between Peppard and Pickens-which begins with Pickens using a whip. Acting was quite good. I liked Don Galloway and John McIntyre in supporting roles. It was a bit of a stretch to believe Martin as a total villain--but he pulled it off quite well

bkoganbing Dean Martin for the first and only time in his career played a villain, a town boss named Alex Flood who still hasn't gotten control of the stagecoach line Jean Simmons runs. She's sold it to George Peppard and John McIntire. McIntire is wounded on the way into town and he and Peppard are put up by Simmons. This doesn't sit well with Dino, he and Simmons have had their moments in the past.It's a good adult western with lots of action to satisfy everyone. One of the most brutal fight scenes in cinema history takes place between Peppard and Slim Pickens who's Martin's chief henchman. More brutal than the one between Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt against Barton MacLane in Treasure of the Sierra Made. More brutal because Pickens meets his demise. The rest of the film is Peppard rallying forces to take the town away from Martin's control. Of course having Jean Simmons to come home to is enough to inspire anyone.Simmons is no longer playing the young girls she played in the 1950s, but she gives a good account of herself as the stageline widow. She's always good, one of the most under-appreciated actresses in movie history.Good adult western, worth a view. And if you want to see a modern remake, catch the Patrick Swayze film Road House.

tim777ca Dean Martin plays the villain for the first time, but doesn't add any dimension to his role. George Peppard steals the movie as a gambler who doesn't want any trouble until situation becomes impossible. Jean Simmons is adorable as usual.The plots are quite routine, the action scenes passable. It's a bit unreasonable that Simmons would let Peppard, a stranger who rides to town on her stagecoach, stay in her house. Although such arrangement is made by the writers, it's a shame that their relationship is not fully developed.Fortunately we see some familiar supporting actors, including Don Galloway (of TV series IRONSIDE), John McIntire (of WAGON TRAIN), and it's interesting to watch comic actor Slim Pickens as mean, sadistic character again after his wonderful performance in ONE-EYED JACKS (1961).