Collines brûlantes

I was waiting to see some hills burning. Didn't appen.

Both Tab Hunter and Skip Homeier put in excellent performances in this film. Both are well-cast for the roles they play - Tab, the "good guy" and Skip, the "bad, ruthless killer." The final fight scene between Tab Hunter and Skip Homeier is one of the best I have seen staged in a western. The final outcome was in no way predictable. The movie stands up well after 40 years.

A very routine western ,with a plot the average viewer has already seen fifty times (the wealthy landlord who wants to get rid of all the little farmers around,and his nasty offspring),this is nevertheless an entertaining nervy work ,with a good chemistry between the two principals .Natalie Wood ,who was only 18 at the time ,displays strength and resilience against a bunch of villains who ceaselessly harass her.She's the only man in her family ,her uncle and her little brother are sissies ,but we're told her father was a brave man ,just like Daniel Jordan,the man she helps to fight the criminals who killed his brother.A rather violent western,with a lot of death,and a splendid cinematography.

Tab Hunter has here one of his rare lead characters role; he usually co starred with big names, and this movie is not a B picture either. Stuart Heisler was not Lesley Selander, Alfred Werker, Ray Nazzaro or Jack Arnold. This vengeance plot, scheme, is as old as the western genre, so don't expect any surprises here. You'll find here a very good time waster and a Nathalie Wood's performance which is worth the viewing. Nothing special concerning this western, that was rather in the Twentieth Century Fox manner, using supporting actors for Cinemascope - or the studio equivalent - frames. Good western.

Bubblegum western marketed at the time as if it were "Rebel Without a Cause" on the range (one of the tag lines read: "People would say, 'But they're only kids!'"). Half-breed girl (Natalie Wood, heavily pancaked and miscast, but still not bad) shelters a cowboy (Tab Hunter) embroiled in a vengeful feud with a scurrilous gang. Good, trashy fun; supporting cast including Earl Holliman and Claude Akins is solid, direction by Stuart Heisler fast-paced. The screenplay adaptation (by Irving Wallace, of all people) slants Louis L'Amour's story in favor of showcasing the teen heartthrobs of the day, but it has good action scenes and a satisfying wrap-up. **1/2 from ****