Enjoyable, old-style Western with James Stewart as the mild-mannered farmer-cum-sheriff whose resolute core slowly but surely comes to the surface when five tough and vicious marauders invade his town. Vincent McEveety's direction is especially effective in the pulsating High Noon-style climax and the Technicolor photography exemplary, particularly in a night-time scene at a bizarre 'wake'. The performances of Stewart - radiating sincerity and determination - and Henry Fonda, as the tormented outlaw leader, lift a basically ordinary action yarn right out of the rut.

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