Both star John Wayne and director Howard Hawks - whose last film this was - were getting a bit long in the tooth and saddle-sore when they churned out this enjoyable but derivative Western. It's a virtual retread of their previous two horse operas, 'Rio Bravo' and 'El Dorado', with wronged soldier Wayne ending up in a showdown in a dusty town. Events run like a door-slamming stage farce, ensuring plenty of laughs between the bullets. The Technicolor camerawork is top drawer and, despite a lot of below-par supporting acting, the film is finally lifted out of the rut by veteran Jack Elam's marvellously Gothic performance as a half-crazed old rancher, whose finger itches demonically on the trigger every time he gets a bad guy in his sights. Sherry Lansing, who has a small but decorative role in this 20th Century-Fox film, was, barely a decade later, appointed boss of the studio!

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