Paul Newman has said that his best movies all start with an "H", and this fine, grim western bears him out, though it's not quite in the same league as The Hustler or Hud. This is a Stagecoach variation, assembling differing characters for a trek through Arizona, played by a very distinguished cast including veteran Fredric March and a gnarled Richard Boone. Only import Diane Cilento (Sean Connery's ex-wife and Jason Connery's mother) seems ill-at-ease in a pivotal role. The movie is beautifully shot by veteran photographer James Wong Howe, and Newman's famed piercing blue eyes have seldom been more prominently featured. The plot has many valid points to make about incipient racism, and the film is deeply rewarding.

John Russell, disdained by his "respectable" fellow stagecoach passengers because he was raised by Indians, becomes their only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws.