This outdoor yarn was James Cagney's first western since he made THE OKLAHOMA KID in 1939. The story is different from what we typically see in 50s frontier sagas, with its heightened melodrama and slightly ambiguous morality.
The moral center is compromised by a young wanderer played by John Derek. Cagney meets him in the opening sequence, and they bond quickly when they're in the wrong place at the wrong time and get blamed for a train robbery. After they've been arrested, Cagney clears up the confusion at a local sheriff's office which prevents a mob from lynching them.
We learn two things right up front. First, the sheriff is woefully inadequate and about to be fired by the leading townsfolk. And second, Derek would have preferred to rob the locomotive and run off with the loot. He has no definition of right and wrong, or any qualms about getting what he can for himself. The only thing that humbles him, partially, is a leg that gets crippled in a shooting.
Of course, Cagney decides to intervene. As a good Samaritan, he will mentor and guide the young man; to turn him into a respectable law abiding citizen if he can. But there is some foreshadowing which suggests Derek's good side may not win out. So it becomes a case of how much Cagney tries to do, while dealing with the reality that Derek is probably a bad seed who cannot be reformed.
Meanwhile Cagney becomes the new sheriff and falls in love with the daughter (Viveca Lindfors) of a Scandinavian farmer. As he settles down and establishes roots in the community, Cagney continues to be drawn to Derek and remains focused on straightening out the boy.
The final sequence of the film is the best. Out on a manhunt to bring some killers to justice, Cagney realizes his protege is also involved. He has to face the situation head on in a violent confrontation.
In the last scene, he rides back into town with the dead body of his young pal. He tells his girl and the others how the boy died a hero. He doesn't want to admit what has really happened.
Cagney gives a powerful performance, and this is director Nicholas Ray's most overlooked classic. If John Derek's role had been played by James Dean, it's a picture everyone would be familiar with...I encourage you to watch it and form your own conclusions.
The moral center is compromised by a young wanderer played by John Derek. Cagney meets him in the opening sequence, and they bond quickly when they're in the wrong place at the wrong time and get blamed for a train robbery. After they've been arrested, Cagney clears up the confusion at a local sheriff's office which prevents a mob from lynching them.
We learn two things right up front. First, the sheriff is woefully inadequate and about to be fired by the leading townsfolk. And second, Derek would have preferred to rob the locomotive and run off with the loot. He has no definition of right and wrong, or any qualms about getting what he can for himself. The only thing that humbles him, partially, is a leg that gets crippled in a shooting.
Of course, Cagney decides to intervene. As a good Samaritan, he will mentor and guide the young man; to turn him into a respectable law abiding citizen if he can. But there is some foreshadowing which suggests Derek's good side may not win out. So it becomes a case of how much Cagney tries to do, while dealing with the reality that Derek is probably a bad seed who cannot be reformed.
Meanwhile Cagney becomes the new sheriff and falls in love with the daughter (Viveca Lindfors) of a Scandinavian farmer. As he settles down and establishes roots in the community, Cagney continues to be drawn to Derek and remains focused on straightening out the boy.
The final sequence of the film is the best. Out on a manhunt to bring some killers to justice, Cagney realizes his protege is also involved. He has to face the situation head on in a violent confrontation.
In the last scene, he rides back into town with the dead body of his young pal. He tells his girl and the others how the boy died a hero. He doesn't want to admit what has really happened.
Cagney gives a powerful performance, and this is director Nicholas Ray's most overlooked classic. If John Derek's role had been played by James Dean, it's a picture everyone would be familiar with...I encourage you to watch it and form your own conclusions.