Der gnadenlose Rächer

"Young" Billy Young(Walker) is on the run after having killed a ruthless Mexican general. He runs into sheriff Mitchum, who "makes him an offer he can't refuse", i.e. to become his deputy. The young man is reluctant at first, but with bad guy Fred Boone on his way to town, he realizes that his help will be more than welcome.

However, if you think that the story centres on any of these events, you are wrong. It's a bit of everything and always too little of it, if you know what I mean. For example,you hear the characters talk every now and then about the bad guy Fred Boone. However, you won't get to see him until the final gunfight, which is over before you know it. Perhaps, the film is most interesting for fans of Robert Mitchum. He has a great part as the aging sheriff and obviously has a lot of fun playing it too. In fact, he must be one of the most enjoyable characters I have ever seen in an old western.(better than most John Wayne parts)

The acting is actually overall quite good. Angie Dickinson too has a nice part as a local "dancer". The story isn't too bad either, except then for the fact that it seems awfully shortened. The film as a whole lasts only a mere 89 minutes and that's just too short for the potential it has in it. So: not bad, but not better than 6/10.

Billy Young and Jesse Boone (David Carradine) sneak onto a troop train and kill a Mexican General and his men. Billy loses his horse and is left behind with Mexican troops hot on Jesse's tail. Ben Kane (Robert Mitchum) is on his way to be a deputy sheriff and meets Billy. Ben is only allowed to be a tax collector. While in town, Billy gets into a fight over cards, kills the sheriff and gets run out of town. Billy runs into Ben Kane again. In town, Kane confronts John Behan and dancehall girl Lily Beloit (Angie Dickinson) offers her help alluding to an old incident. Jesse's father Frank Boone killed Ben's son.

This movie needs a darker harder edge. The material is geared more towards that end but the movie seems intent on making this a fun western. The light tones and music are ill-fitting. Also it's too precious with Ben's past. It should have explained the backstory much earlier which would have given the characters more compelling interactions. It would raise the stakes. By leaving the reveal so late, the characters don't have the connections. Ben and Billy should have stayed together but they keep bumping into each other haphazardly. They really need the time together to develop the needed chemistry.

The title role of this western is played by Robert Walker, Jr. He's a young gun who with partner David Carradine gets separated after doing a contract hit on a Mexican general. In eluding their pursuers Carradine and Walker become separated. Walker comes upon the camp of lawman Robert Mitchum who takes a liking to Walker and makes him a protégé and reclamation project of sorts.

This is the first of two films Robert Mitchum did with writer/director Burt Kennedy. The second was the more humorous The Good Guys and the Bad Guys.

Not that Young Billy Young does not have its moments of hilarity. But it is a tripartite story involving the Walker reclamation, Mitchum's hunt for the bad who killed his son and a romantic triangle involving Mitchum, Angie Dickinson, and town boss Jack Kelly.

The film abounds with nepotism. David Carradine is John's son. Dean Martin's daughter Deana is in this, Walker is the son of Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones and Mitchum's son Chris plays Mitchum's son in some silent flashbacks.

Robert Mitchum got his start in westerns and always looks right at home in them. Angie Dickinson essentially repeats the role she had in Rio Bravo. Walker had a brief career playing rebellious youths and doing a good job at it. I've often wondered what happened to him. He looks hauntingly like his father. Maybe he didn't want to come to such a tragic early end like his father.

And it that wasn't enough, Mitchum fans get to hear old rumple eyes sing the title song at the beginning of the film.

A good entertainment but nothing more : in this western we are between the classics and the spaghetti ones. This provides us a good a conventional story but it's always a pleasure to see Robert Mitchum with his legendary flegma although he isn't as fit as in the forties or the fifties. And don't forget David Carradine is the son of John Carradine

The film is based on Will Henry novel titled ¨Who rides with Wyatt Earp¨ , it is starred by Deputy Ben Kane (Robert Mitchum) , before working as a policeman in Wichita (Kansas) and as town marshal assistant of Dodge City (Kansas) , he served other towns like well being narrated in this film . Earp was a man of cool courage and gunfighting skill , he was hired as a shotgun by the authorities and became the town marshal . Here is developed his friendship with a young gunman called Billy (Robert Walker Jr.) who results to be actually Johnny Ringo , a subsequent enemy and along with Clanton-McLaury faction resulted on 26 October 1881 the explosive showdown known as ¨the Gunfight at the OK Corral¨ .

This exciting picture contains sensational main actor casting and a character-full supporting cast . Robert Mitchum as brave sheriff , although affected for previous death , is astounding , his character has a backbone of bitterness somewhere deep inside . Robert Mitchum said he intended to retire from acting when this movie finished filming in late 1968 , but in the following year he agreed to star in Ryan's daughter (1970). Despite being top billed Robert Mitchum does not turn up until 19 minutes into the film . Robert Walker as impetuous gunman is cool , he makes a similar role to Ricky Nelson in ¨Rio Bravo¨ . Angie Dickinson repeats her usual character as Saloon call-girl . Paul Fix as stagecoach driver makes a role likeness to Walter Brennan . The film was well directed by Burt Kennedy . An eighty per cent of this American director's movies have been Western , bad , good and indifferent in equal proportions . He made delightful and tremendously agreeable Westerns (Support you local Sheriff , Support your local gunfighter) but also realized objectionable ,duds , muddled and disastrous Westerns , though his greatest success was as screenwriter of the splendid series Boetticher-Scott in the late 50s (Tall T , Ride lonesome , Comanche station) . This motion picture will appeal to Robert Mitchum and Angie Dickinson fans.