A routine Western made in TV style, in fact it turns out to be the pilot for the television series 'The Road West ', originally aired in two episodes. At the end of the American Civil War, the Pride family decides to leave their native Ohio and begin a new life in the eastern part of the country. The family is made up of Ohio widower Ben Pride (Barry Sullivan) and children: youngsters Timothy Pride (Andrew Prine), Margaret 'Midge' Pride (Brenda Scott), little boy Christopher 'Kip' Pride (Kelly Corcoran) and grandparents (Charles Seel, Katherine Squire). Things go wrong, when they arrive in Lawrence (Kansas). There, the veteran widower patriarch falls in love with a young girl called Elizabeth (Kathryn Hays), the daughter of the town doctor (Roy Roberts). Ben ask her to marry him and build a new home, but Ben's daughter (Brenda Scott) is not so happen about her new mother in-law. Furthermore, Elizabeth Reynolds wants to leave town and move back East and while the marauders raid the town, resulting in fateful consequences. There takes place the looting and burning of Lawrence , Kansas , actually occurred on 21 August 1863 also known as Quantrill's Raid -although the film is apparently set just after the Civil War (19861-1865) .
This ordinary, functional Western contains run-of-the-mill plot , intrigue , thrills , shootouts and results to be entertaining enough. Dealing with the typical conflict in which a family shortly after the Civil War moves to a new savage land and is really harassed by Confederate marauders. Regular Western balances action, intriga, romance and drama. Partially based on historical events just after the Civil War happened in which the Bushwhackers use guerrilla warfare to destroy Yankee targets and led by men set on revenge, make a raid into Lawrence, Kansas. The picture efficiently describes the atmosphere of violence in which Women and Blacks have few rights, confrontation among bands and bloody battles. The highlights of the film are the climatic raids on the little town Lawrence (Kansas), and, of course, the final confrontation. The traditional story and exciting screenplay was middlingly written by Richard Fielder though clichés run through-out, there're also some distinguished events and dramatical attitudes. The enjoyable tale is enhanced for interesting moments developed among main characters and especially on the relationship between Barry Sullivan and Kathryn Hays. The film features several fine supporting actors, such as Glenn Corbett, 'John Drew Barrymore' of the prestigious Barrymore family of actors, playing a vicious, sadistic sociopath who take advantage of the frightened townspeople, and the always great George C. Scott before he went on to the pantheon of fame with his 'Patton'; George C Scott performs a truly good/bad role and he is an awesome expert in the art of conjuring sensational acting .
It contains an evocative cinematography regularly caught by cameraman William Margulies, being really necessary a perfect remastering. As well as atmospheric and lively musical score by Leonard Rosenman. This is another costumary Western being averagely directed by Vincent McEveety , son of director Bernard McEveety. Vincent was an expert craftsman filmmaking occasionally for cinema such as ¨Herbie, Torero¨ , ¨Amy¨ , ¨The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again¨ , ¨Gus¨, ¨The Strongest Man in the World¨ and usually directed several TV episodes such as: ¨Diagnosis murder¨, ¨Colombo¨, ¨Pensacola¨ , ¨Perry Mason¨, ¨T. J. Hooker¨, ¨Airwolf¨ , ¨Dallas¨ , ¨Cimarron¨ , ¨Gunsmoke¨ and ¨Star Trek ¨ . His best film was : ¨Firecreek¨ a star-studded Western with James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Gary Lockwood, Barbara Luna, Brooke Bundy and Morgan Woodward; it's a classical recounting about an unexperienced marshal in charge of a village full of cowards and frightening people; being probably one of the best Westerns in the fifties and sixties. ¨This Savage Land¨ rating: 4.5/10. A simple and plain Western without much interest except for hardcore fans of the genre.
