Director: Anthony Mann
Starring: Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J. Cobb
Running Time: 100 minutes
Synopsis: Former outlaw Link Jones (Gary Cooper) has built a new life of peaceful domesticity. But after he is caught up in a botched train robbery along with entertainer Billie Ellis (Julie London) and card sharp Beasley (Arthur O'Connell), Link stumbles upon his old gang led by the hard-drinking and aging Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb). The gang is now marginalized and incompetent, but Dock harkens back to old glories and wants Link to rejoin for one last bank heist.
What Works Well: Director Anthony Mann combines the impressive breadth of CinemaScope with an intimate focus on one man forced to confront his legacy. Gary Cooper's considered presence enhances a central theme of the monster within called upon to slay the ghosts of the past, and Lee J. Cobb's borderline maniacal father figure exemplifies the power of elders to shape destinies. The overarching titular narrative captures the man of the west's progress from lawlessness to respectability. And while the unevolved are decidedly humiliated (in an exhaustingly epic fist fight) and discarded, beneath the veneer of civility violence is not far from the surface.
What Does Not Work As Well: In a few talky scenes, the tight focus on a small number of characters starts to resemble a stage play. A climactic gun battle is staged with exquisite excellent but suffers from endless bullets syndrome.
Key Quote:
Link Jones (to Dock): You've outlived your kind and outlived your time, and I'm comin' to get you!
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