This is a very mediocre offering from Burt Kennedy. It is yet another remake of Rio Bravo, but without any added wit or star power to justify the exercise. I gave it 3 out of 10 stars in IMDb and didn't bother to rank it.
There were a few things I liked about it:
There were a few things I liked about it:
- Robert Mitchum makes it watchable.
- There aren't a whole lot of women who are sexier at age 38 than they are at age 28. Angie Dickinson is one of them.
- This kid Robert Walker Jr., who plays the Billy Young in the title, has an interesting background. His mother was Jennifer Jones and his father, Robert Walker, was an excellent actor who is best known for his role as the creepy guy in Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train". He was also very good as the "spoiled, no good cattle baron's son" in "Veangance Valley". Unfortunately, his son appears to have inherited his mother's acting talent instead of his father's. Look for another poor performance by the kid in "The War Wagon".
- Nice authentic location i.e. the film is shot mostly on location in southern Arizona where the film is set.
- It's worth a very hearty laugh when you realize that Robert Mitchum is actually doing the vocals on the title song, which gets played over the opening credits and then again at the end. He sounds like a moose in heat.