Method actor Rod Steiger wasn't famous for his westerns but this is an interesting cult flick from Sam Fuller. It has a strong central idea - Steiger is a Confederate who won't recognise that his side lost and heads out west.
It is weird to see Steiger as a cowboy hero - he's too fat and looks awkward on a horse. The Irish accent does not help (Fuller was a tough guy but evidently even he could not stop Steiger doing accent acting). I wish the lead had been played by Brian Keith, who is a kindly Union soldier here. Ralph Meeker is a racist.
The more Fuller movies I watch the more I noticed how often baby boomer directors ripped them off - this has a savage kid who can't talk given a harmonica (Mad Max 2), and a man being burned alive by the Indians and the white hero living with the Indians shooting him dead to spare him more pain (The Last of the Mohicans).
The film does get points for having the Indians win the battle at the end. It loses them for having a female lead who is just a stock smiling hot native woman (voice dubbed by Angie Dickinson). It gets them for having a snarling protagonist - that is different even if the guy is a prick.
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