A perfect small-scale western. Randolph Scott plays the very ordinary cowpoke who stumbles into the hands of kidnappers, carefully biding his time to turn the tables and free their captive, the rich man's wife played by Maureen O'Sullivan. The outlaws are finely etched in Burt Kennedy's screenplay (from an Elmore Leonard story) as both ruthless and human, and skilfully portrayed by Henry Silva, Skip Homeier and, especially, Richard Boone as their leader, a lonely, intelligent figure who cannot escape his nature. It is superbly filmed, almost entirely outdoors, by director Budd Boetticher, and the vivid, desolate landscape greatly enhances the drama.

An independent former ranch foreman and an heiress are kidnapped by a trio of ruthless outlaws.