Aging ex-lawman Joel McCrea is hired to protect gold shipment and asks old friend Randolph Scott to join him. Scott brings a young sidekick (Ron Starr) with him and has intentions of robbing the gold shipment, with or without McCrea's help. Last hurrah for western stars Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea. Scott's last film completely and McCrea's last worth mentioning. It's funny but I never really think of Joel McCrea as a western star. I know he did a lot of them, particularly in the later half of his career, but I always preferred his comedy and drama roles from earlier on. The westerns he did were not that impressive to me. Scott, on the other hand, was a bona fide western legend on the basis of his Boetticher films alone. Mariette Hartley is good in her film debut. Ron Starr is the film's weak link. It's not surprising he would have a limited acting career. It's been said by many to be Sam Peckinpah's best film. Is it? I'm not quite there but I do believe it's one of his least self-indulgent films. He's not one of my favorite directors but he did do some good work. This is right up there. It's not a perfect film. The first half is kind of pedestrian for a film with such a high reputation. But the second half delivers and you can see why many call this a classic.

"All I want is to Enter My House Justified"

Sam Peckinpah's second feature film is today standing up as a must see and must own for those interested in the Western genre.

The film sees ageing lawman Steve Judd land a job of escorting a gold shipment safely to a bank in Hornitos. After running into old friend, and fellow aged lawman Gil Westrun, he hires both he and his young sparky sidekick Heck Longtree to hopefully see the job through to a successful conclusion. Yet Gil has other ideas, for where Steve is upstanding and adhering to the values he has lived his life by, Gil sees this as one last chance to actually get a big payday. The journey takes a further twist as the three men meet and then save Elsa Knudsen from a brutal marriage, it's an incident that puts them all on a collision course with the Hammond brothers.

What we have here is Sam Peckinpah's first film dealing with men who have outlived their time. We witness some emotionally poignant stuff as the two main protagonists know that they have aged beyond their world, yet as alike as they are, they have different ideals in how to deal with the advent of time. The masterstroke here is the casting of genre legends Joel McRea & Randolph Scott as Steve & Gil respectively. It's evident from the off that both men are identifying with their characters, with both men hitting top emotional form to fully realise the thematic heart of the story. Mariette Hartley makes her film debut as Elsa, and she fits in nicely with the quality on show behind and in front of the camera. Lucien Ballard's cinematography is gorgeous as the various California locations envelope the protagonists in a sort of elegiac way, and Peckinpah directs with his heart as well as his head.

Bookended by two heart-achingly super sequences, of which the finale has rightly passed into Western genre legend, this really is a strong and beautiful film, one that simultaneously shows a truly great director was at work. For here he was left alone, and the final result is a quality Western beating far more than just a cowboy heart. The supporting cast is strong, notably Edgar Buchanan, L.Q. Jones & John Anderson, while the undervalued George Bassman provides a narratively fitting tonal music score. If there is a criticism? it's that Peckinpah doesn't let the younger characters breath, but given the film's core focus on aged men in an aged passing era, well it's easily forgiven. A precursor to The Wild Bunch for sure, but while the theme is the same for both films, this one impacts in a very different way. Highly recommended, not just for the Oater crowd, but for fans of classic cinema too. 9/10

This was a wonderful Western that avoided the usual clichés of the genre and has quite a bit of depth to it--the characters are fully developed and believable. And, for director Peckinpah, it represents what I think is probably his best work. Unlike some of his later and very self-indulgent films that focus more on gore than acting (the best example is BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA),this film focuses first and foremost on acting and characterizations. Because of this, it was a fantastic way for Randolph Scott to wrap up his long career (it was his last film).

However, despite Scott doing an excellent job, the film really is Joel McCrea's movie (he did a few films after this, but this was probably his last GREAT film). He plays the doggedly determined and decent man who, despite the odds, always makes himself do the right thing. He is a tower of decency and manliness--and not all that different than Gary Cooper as the sheriff in HIGH NOON. However, unlike in HIGH NOON, the age of the character is important to the story. Cooper is old but this isn't really talked about in his film, but McCrea is tough but worn down by age and the long-term effects of being a law man. He talks about arthritis as well as his many bullet wounds he's incurred over the years. Despite being older, achier and pretty poor after a lifetime of service to others, he is not bitter but content with himself and his life choices.

Scott, on the other hand, has a similar back story, but unlike McCrea, he feels that life owes him something. So, instead of helping McCrea to bring the gold to town, he plans on stealing it since "he deserves it". However, despite being so jaded and cynical, Scott is, down deep, also a decent man--it just isn't apparent through most of the film! This makes him less of a central focus, but probably a more complicated and interesting man, since he is more 'human'.

While I could explain the plot more, it's best just to watch it yourself. The film is beautifully filmed and acted. Its moral questions and depth of the characters make it a standout film. If you liked this type of film, you should also see Gregory Peck's THE BIG COUNTRY or THE GUNFIGHTER. I love Westerns, like these, that make you think and don't look just like any other film of the genre.