Right out of the gate, this movie had an almost impossible hurdle to overcome by invoking the name of "High Noon", so it shouldn't come as any surprise that the result was somewhat disappointing. Had the film makers gone for an entirely different premise, you might have had a reasonably interesting Western. However comparisons with the original were virtually assured by touting the 'Return of Will Kane, and when you throw that challenge at the viewer, you've got to expect to take your lumps.
Back in 1952, when Gary Cooper threw his marshal's badge into the dirt in Hadleyville, he was a fifty one year old actor, so I wasn't expecting to see Lee Majors show up a full decade younger. At least Katherine Cannon's portrayal of Mrs. Kane didn't give way to the same reverse aging process as her husband. I really have to wonder why the casting gurus went with this strategy, as it bothered me pretty much throughout the picture.
About the only scene that captured my imagination was that saloon showdown when Will Kane first met Ben Irons (David Carradine), and he winds up bluffing the villain and his sidekick Emmett (Charles Benton) into backing down. The picture could have used some more creativity like that, but wound up being a pretty standard Western the rest of the way. Pernell Roberts' turn as sheriff J.D. Ward was fairly successful, having his bases covered as an all around bad guy. I did a quick sit up and take notice when he ordered his black deputy (J.A. Preston) to "Fetch your people" to form a posse, thereby adding racist to the list of his other endearing qualities. The idea that Kane would take up with outlaw Irons to protect him from Marshal Ward was generally handled OK, although more than once I wondered why Irons wouldn't have tried to make his own getaway.
Of course everything that happened in the story prefaced the final showdown between Kane and Ward, with the point of Ward's mastery of long range sharp shooting about to be tested. The serving of the warrant gimmick was one of the more effective endings to a final gun battle that I've seen, so you can score another plus for the picture there. But once again, without the clock, without the train tracks and with no mounting tension to speak of, this poor man's version of "High Noon" simply failed to satisfy. And if I didn't hear it with my own ears, I wouldn't have believed that the final score would go spaghetti.
Back in 1952, when Gary Cooper threw his marshal's badge into the dirt in Hadleyville, he was a fifty one year old actor, so I wasn't expecting to see Lee Majors show up a full decade younger. At least Katherine Cannon's portrayal of Mrs. Kane didn't give way to the same reverse aging process as her husband. I really have to wonder why the casting gurus went with this strategy, as it bothered me pretty much throughout the picture.
About the only scene that captured my imagination was that saloon showdown when Will Kane first met Ben Irons (David Carradine), and he winds up bluffing the villain and his sidekick Emmett (Charles Benton) into backing down. The picture could have used some more creativity like that, but wound up being a pretty standard Western the rest of the way. Pernell Roberts' turn as sheriff J.D. Ward was fairly successful, having his bases covered as an all around bad guy. I did a quick sit up and take notice when he ordered his black deputy (J.A. Preston) to "Fetch your people" to form a posse, thereby adding racist to the list of his other endearing qualities. The idea that Kane would take up with outlaw Irons to protect him from Marshal Ward was generally handled OK, although more than once I wondered why Irons wouldn't have tried to make his own getaway.
Of course everything that happened in the story prefaced the final showdown between Kane and Ward, with the point of Ward's mastery of long range sharp shooting about to be tested. The serving of the warrant gimmick was one of the more effective endings to a final gun battle that I've seen, so you can score another plus for the picture there. But once again, without the clock, without the train tracks and with no mounting tension to speak of, this poor man's version of "High Noon" simply failed to satisfy. And if I didn't hear it with my own ears, I wouldn't have believed that the final score would go spaghetti.