Didn't know much about this film other than it was meant to star Victor Mature but they pulled the plug during filming then re-did it with Richard Widmark. The story suits Fox's template of the time - there's a solid star part for a middle aged guy, a thankless role for a woman (who could be cut out of the whole film), a crusty support, and a good role for a male ingenue.
Richard Boone plays crusty, and Jeff Hunter is the ingenue - a fire fighter who comes to believe Widmark is responsible for this father's death. What helps this piece is that Widmark himself is unsure of this - he was knocked out during a fire. It adds suspense (even if we're sure Widmark didn't do it we don't know what happened), and gives Widmark a decent role to play.
Colour photography helps, as does location shooting and the fact it's an unsual world - that of parachuting fire fighters (the smoke jumpers who were the characters in that film arc on Entourage).
It's a solid script and director Joseph Newman does a polished job. They really should have done something for the female lead - made her the daughter of the dead guy or something.
Charles Bronson has a very small role.
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