Set in southern California this western is considerably further west than most of the genre
although not much further west than many were filmed! The story opens in a stagecoach heading towards Los Angeles; on board are a school teacher, a senator, a bandit, a man we will soon learn is a deserter from the US Army and a wealthy land owner who is wants Southern California to break away from the rest of the state and become a new state where slavery is legal
this is in the 1850's several years before the civil war that was to abolish slavery throughout the United States. The bandit tries to rob the stage but fails and is handed over to the local army captain in Los Angeles. It looks like he can't be trusted though as the man escapes. This is where the deserter is identified as Major Callicut; a man wanted for killing a fellow officer in a duel. Shortly afterwards the senator is shot and killed by the leader of the secessionists. What follows has more twists than a corkscrew as we learn that little of what we have seen is quite what it seemed; Callicut is in fact on a mission to root out the secessionists who plan to take over the area's water supply to force the government to give in to their demands.
This is a decent enough film with a solid performance from Randolph Scott as Callicut; there is sufficient action and even a few good laughs mostly provided by Callicut's sergeant; at one point he is even disguised as a woman in a bonnet and dress! The problem is the story wasn't that believable If the threat from secessionists was so serious surely the government would have sent more than one man and people were quick to believe him when he showed his ID; it hardly looked forgery proof! Another problem was the obvious use of back projection in many scenes; I know this was a common thing in films of the time but it seemed particularly obvious here. I will admit though that the twists weren't bad and I certainly didn't spot the main one; don't worry I won't spoil it here! The film is still worth watching if you are a fan of the western genre just don't expect anything too special.
This is a decent enough film with a solid performance from Randolph Scott as Callicut; there is sufficient action and even a few good laughs mostly provided by Callicut's sergeant; at one point he is even disguised as a woman in a bonnet and dress! The problem is the story wasn't that believable If the threat from secessionists was so serious surely the government would have sent more than one man and people were quick to believe him when he showed his ID; it hardly looked forgery proof! Another problem was the obvious use of back projection in many scenes; I know this was a common thing in films of the time but it seemed particularly obvious here. I will admit though that the twists weren't bad and I certainly didn't spot the main one; don't worry I won't spoil it here! The film is still worth watching if you are a fan of the western genre just don't expect anything too special.