The credentials of this tough western are first-rate: written by the prolific Philip Yordan, from a novel by that fine western writer Frank O'Rourke; and directed by Henry King, one of the best of Hollywood's veteran directors (he began in early silent days).

Here, King sustains the tensions, aroused by Gregory Peck's crazed hunt for the bandits who murdered his wife, at a remarkable pitch, against some colourful backgrounds, vividly shot by Leon Shamroy.

Joan Collins, Stephen Boyd, Lee Van Cleef and Henry Silva give Peck spirited support.

If the actor playing the hangman looks vaguely familiar, he's Joe De Rita, soon to become one of The Three Stooges in their feature films of the late Fifties and early Sixties.