Wyoming Mail

I have never heard of Director Reginald LeBorg but from a quick glance at his IMDB bio, I surmise that he did not do anything particularly memorable.

Exactly the same description for the screenplay by Essex and Lee: no dialogue to remember for too long.

The things that stayed on my mind: Stephen McNally, a very fine supporting thespian, here a lead who delivers credibly, especially in the company of lovely Alexis Smith; and Armando Silvestre as Indian Joe, wearing moccasins that change from white to near black and back to white all in the same run on the mountain.

Howard da Silva also stands out as one of the baddies, though not the kingpin, and James Arness for once plays a villain instead of goody two shoes Dillon.

Competent cinematography by Russell Metty, unobtrusive landscapes here and there, some gripping bits of action in between slower stretches. Not a waste of time, though - as indicated at the start - nothing to remember for long. 7/10.

I reviewed this movie and find it very strange, that after all these years this movie is still around. I was visiting my relatives in Sonora California when I was 16 years old and Universal International was filming the movie. Most of the movie crew ate at the El Nido Inn where I stayed. I was introduced to the producers and and directors and they took me into the production as a guest. Every morning I would tale the big limos to the locations. One location was the Sonora city dump transformed into a scene that didn't resemble the original location. I met actress Alexis Smith, although she was a very private person. I was introduced to her because she was from Penticton B.C. Canada only 50 miles from my home town. I recall many moments of the production. It was strange to see it later in the theatre, because most of the scenes became different than what I saw in real life. Memories still linger.

Usually stephen mcnally plays the surly bad guy so playing an undercover good guy is a twist but his attitude hasn't changed ... he's still a hard case and considers himself a lady's man ... and to prove it they have alexis smith play his gal pal ... the usual cast of bad guys are in this film, except jim arness who later becomes matt dillon on the long running series "gunsmoke" ... the problem with this plot is the railroads shipped money for express agents, hardly ever the us postal service .... howard silva never changes his spots

I watched it because it was from Universal studios and also directed by Reginald LeBorg, whom I did not comment so many films from him so far. It is a good effective western starring Stephen McNally for once in a good guy character, an undrcover agent to nail a gang of outlaws. As you see, nothing exceptional here. No surprise at all. I would have prefered Mc Nally as a gang leader, but Howard De Silva could not be an undercover agent. It would not have matched at all. I don't even speak of Ed Begley. Good sequences though, good production design, this western was a small budget one, OK, but not PRC or Monogram either, so the lack of budget did not justify some flaws explained by a lack of care from the director and not the production.

Pretty good Western that gets better as it goes along. Railroad agent Steve Davis (McNally) goes undercover to catch an elaborate gang of train robbers. Along the way, he meets lovely songstress Mary Williams (Smith), but much worse, has to go to prison to establish his outlaw cover. The gang, it turns out, has respectable confederates but we can't be sure who they are.

There're several good surprises, plus some nice touches from director LeBorg— e. g. a wounded Indian Joe trying to hook on the train, the final scene that hits the right notes, a frantic outlaw (Jaeckle) atop an exploding baggage car. Also, that rock formation of the gang's hideout is impressive as heck, with its spindly ladders to the caves at the top. Then there's a splash or two of great blue sky scenery.

The supporting cast is also notable—Begley, DaSilva, Evans and Jaeckle, plus a young, curly-haired James Arness and-- look quickly—Richard Egan as a prison guard. Universal Studio did a number of these Technicolor Westerns at the time, using solid performers and location filming. None that I've seen reach the first rank, but do remain solid entertainment for horse opera fans, including this one.