The shadow of two classic Westerns loom large over this semi-classic -Shane, which like this had Van Helfin as a poor but honest farmer worried about being a coward in front of his wife and (in this case two) whiny sons (who say things like "why don't you get him dad" - a true baby boomer character if there was one, spoilt and selfish, reflecting contemporary societal trends within the Western format), who comes up against a more charismatic gunslinger (Glenn Ford) who nonetheless form a mutual respect, and High Noon, where Heflin struggles to get people to help him out when some baddies are on the way.
The central situation is inherently tense and works, and there are plenty of little touches from director Delmer Daves, like the drunk who repeats every word of the marshall and the man who seeks revenge on the dead wagon driver, but the story lacks some of High Noon's complexity; another sub plot would not have gone astray - maybe a re-appearance of the Felicia Farr character who has sex with Ford (surprisingly explicitly) but then disappears from the film.
Suspense builds effectively, though the final bit where Ford just decides last minute to be good is a bit of an anti-climax. One would think Ford would have been cast in the Heflin role, but he's very good as a (highly sympathetic) baddie.
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