A fiery melodrama, based on two short stories and part of a novel by William Faulkner.

Paul Newman is the young opportunist who arrives in town, bringing with him a reputation for burning people's barns if they cross him.

On the basis that guts get you places, he makes an impression on his landlord (a boisterous performance by Orson Welles), the town bigwig, and meets his match (in more ways than one - they fell in love on the set and married in the same year) in Joanne Woodward's sassy daughter.

She is attracted to the newcomer but damned if she's going to marry him at her Dad's bidding.

The scene is thus set for lots of incident and passion.

Newman and Woodward are first-class, and there's excellent support from Anthony Franciosa as Welles' wimpish son (who plans a dramatic revenge on his bully of a father), Lee Remick as his sweet-natured wife and Angela Lansbury as Welles' long-time mistress.