Fuoco incrociato

A "quiet man" known as Maybe Smith rides into the desert town of Dutch Flat, and there's some surprises awaiting him. The desperadoes play it their special way. Macdonald Carey is the man to watch.

A familiar story... but this is a different type of western, playing more like a noir film. The camera angles, the strange little music background, make it all click . This also boasts an excellent cast for a low budget production, co-starring Audrey Totter as Fran and Warren Stevens as the bad guy who you can't get enough of. Old favorite James Gleason plays the sheriff.

The film also moves, and with some solid knockdowns. The fights are very well staged by director and producer Albert Gannaway, who mastered many other B westerns to his credit.

I do agree with the last few reviewers, this has a far different feel. It definately will draw you in. No doubt, an inspiration to many later contemporary westerns, certainly the mood is there for the asking.

James Craig plays Pinch and popular character actor Ken Lynch plays Buckstrom. Special thanks to GRIT Network for bringing this one back to life after many years. This could be on dvd in multiple western box sets.

Despite my love for Westerns, this one was tough to enjoy. The pacing is extremely slow, the characters are not well crafted, and the dialogue is frequently ridiculous. Example: the rich old rancher who rules the town mutters `profound' dialog to himself such as, `All I know is . . . when your dead, your dead for a looooong time'.

Most of the music is produced by a sleepy harmonica, a mournful violin, and a tinkling harp -- except for the title theme, which is a plodding song with dreadful lyrics and no discernible melody, performed by an untalented baritone.

McDonald Carey does a competent acting job amidst some serious scenery chewing. Even Warren Stevens (Doc from `Forbidden Planet') is swimming upstream in this one. His dialogue is dreadfully melodramatic, and his fight scene with Carey is badly staged, clumsily edited, and unintentionally funny.

The most implausible part of the story is the characters' belief that Carey's gun is `magic'. The bad guy (Stevens) is obsessed with getting it because he thinks it'll make him a perfect shot. This misplaced supernatural element, plus the somber mood of the film, the black & white photography, and the strange, almost ghostly music during the climactic gunfight makes the film play like a `Twilight Zone' episode.

Seems like it should've been made in the late '60s, early '70s. In another country. The laughable dialog, we don't care. How so many people throw their lives away without hesitation, I'm sure it's happened.

I did not find this western that strange, I prefered TERROR IN A TEXAS TOWN, for instance, also a weird western with a very unusual and surprising ending too. But yes, this western is above average compared to many other ones speaking of similar plot. Thanks probably to the directing, camera work, atmosphere. Madonald Carey is as bland as ever but good enough to keep your attention till the end. Concerning Audrey Totter, she doesn't seem to be that concerned in her role. To briefly summarize, this western is worth watching in the grade B category, because it has the quality of a good really B movie. I would not be surprised that this plot had inspired the late nineties series THE GUN, about a gun seeked by many people.

I just saw this on cable, and knowing nothing about it before hand, I found myself slowly drawn into the story. I wanted to know what would happen to these characters, and what was really motivating them. I ended up really enjoying it.

All the leads play characters who are intense, and are flawed in various ways. Also, we never get a whole lot of background on the characters, just enough to intrigue me and keep me watching.

At times, I found myself comparing the directorial and writing style to some of the early Dragnet TV episodes from the 1950's. Being black and white, the lighting is subdued, almost flat. The shootings are quick and intense and almost matter of fact.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed it but suspect it is not for everyone.