Lin McAdam rides into town on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown, only to find himself in a shooting competition against him. McAdam wins the prize, a one-in-a-thousand Winchester rifle, but Dutch steals it and leaves town. McAdam follows, intent on settling his old quarrel, while the rifle keeps changing hands and touching a number of lives.
Mann's first film with James Stewart, with whom he was to make a series of classic Westerns, this offers the clearest example of Mann's use of the revenge plot.
– ,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
The final shoot-out remains a classic study in mise-en-scene, as Mann transforms a jagged landscape into a highly charged psychological battleground.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
A frisky, fast-moving, funny Western in which a rifle is the apple of a cowboy's eye.
– Bosley Crowther,
New York Times,
25 Mar 2006
fresh:
Stewart brings real flavor and appeal to the role of Lin, in a lean, concentrated portrayal.