The Western crosses with the juvenile delinquent movie - only the target market appears to be middle aged men rather than kids, so the young cowboys who take over a town are a threat. They include John Saxon who plays a Mexican, something he did several times in his career, and the female lead is teen favourite and future nun Dolores Hart, but the hero is Jeff Chandler.
Chandler was starting to look his age now, although as a prematurely grey man he handled it better than others. He plays a one armed man (acting!) who is forced to act against the young ones. The kids are basically mindless thugs just interested in tormenting people, rather like the ones Alan Ladd fought in 13 West Street.
These sort of movies always pander - which doesn't mean they shouldn't be made; there's nothing wrong with a bit of wish fulfilment. And occasionally this hits a level of Straw Dogs effectiveness, with sullen youths bossing around middle aged, impotent seeming men; and who could blame Chandler for going for Hart, who seems lovely, rather than the sour faced middle aged lady. John Saxon's speech towards the end of the movie, about the prejudice he's faced, raises a bunch of interesting issues that aren't touched on in any way.
But the pacing is too slow - like an episode of a TV Western, with far too many scenes of people standing around doing nothing, and silent pauses. And too much of it is just silly - a young man collapsing into a blubbering heap because some middle aged men threaten him? Lines of middle aged men walking the streets and young cowboys being unable to hit them? Action sequences are poorly staged, characters unevenly drama. Some of the acting is effective - Saxon, Chandler, Hart is really sweet. But it's a third rate Western made at a time when you couldn't get away with that any more.
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