Little known Alan Ladd Western set in the dying days of the Civil War out west. He’s a Confederate officer who hooks up with Quantrill’s Raiders (led by John Ireland), who are trying to whip up a Western rebellion against the Union – a similar plot to the Errol Flynn actioner Rocky Mountain.
Ladd also comes across a couple, a dodgy former Confederate (Arthur Kennedy) and his Southern-hating girlfriend (Lizabeth Scott), with whom Ladd falls in love. Ladd is torn between duty to the Confederacy and Ireland’s increasingly vicious tactics; fortunately Ireland indicates he considers the Confederacy is dead and he wants to make an Empire of his own, thereby letting Ladd off the moral hook. Ladd finally admits that a Yankee victory is better than the Indians. (Earlier in the film when Scott calls Ladd on the South’s slavery he says “we were working on it”).
Lizabeth Scott has harsh features; she’s an interesting team with Ladd. Ladd is in good form as a sort of anti-hero. He really did have a beautiful speaking voice; I particularly noticed it with this one. Ireland is a very strong villain, as he often was, when you think about it (eg Red River).
William Dieterle tries some interesting things with the direction (apparently John Farrow also worked on this uncredited) and it’s a Hal Wallis production so it looks good. But there’s not a lot of action and the film whimps out with it’s moral choices, conveniently killing Kennedy so Ladd can go off with Scott and having Ireland turn overly evil to reduce Ladd’s moral quandary.
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