Corman's third film as producer but first as director and his first in colour. It shows his ambition - the colour, the two well known names (John Lund, Dorothy Malone) in the lead - help mask the low budget, as does a terrific central idea which is inherently low budget... five convicts are recruited to help the Confederates rob some gold.
It's kind of hard to go for the Confederates - are we meant to feel good Lund gets the gold in the end?
I've never liked Lund and he seems bored here - his reign as a leading man didn't last long, and no wonder. The rest of the cast is very good - I'm surprised Dorothy Malone made this at a time when she was making Battle Cry and Young at Heart but maybe it was the only thing going, and she brings it; Touch Connors is excellent as are Jonathan Haze and Bob Campbell who wrote the script. Actually all the acting is solid outside Lund, and even he's competent, just dull.
It's stagnant - a lot of hanging around. The opening narration promises a cross section of characters but it doesn't happen - Campbell's writing wasn't up to his ideas. Too much is stock - Malone is feisty, her uncle is a drunk, Lund is solid, some of the crew are rape-y.
It's a fantastic set up you wish they'd done more with it. But they don't.
Still, a very promising beginning - even if Corman (and AIP) quickly turfed the Western for sci fi.
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