It's funny, but today Randolph Scott is practically forgotten--even though his track record with film is unequaled. While John Wayne is strongly associated with westerns, he did not specialize in them like Scott and no one consistently produced great westerns like he did--especially since his heyday of about 1950-1960. And, while this is certainly not as good as the best of these, it's still a dandy film.
Before I start talking about the plot, however, despite Scott making such good westerns, it's odd that in so many of them small technical details often...well...stink. Like too many of his films, there is a fight scene where the guy doing the fighting is OBVIOUSLY a stuntman. The only way it might have been easier to spot was if they'd used a black lady for these scenes! Also, at the very beginning, Scott has a shootout with some of the worst editing I've seen in years. Clearly, despite his making good films, often the budgets weren't all that great--and this is little more than a B-western in that regard. But, because he was such a great and seemingly effortless actor, you tend to look past these glitches.
In this film, Scott plays a bounty hunter--which makes a lot of sense considering the title! However, when he's looking into a year-old robbery, people in a particular small town act amazingly unfriendly. Concensus seems to be that if there are any crooks in town, well, it's no one's business since they didn't hurt anyone in the town! And because they folks aren't especially civic-minded, Randy's got his hands full.
The acting, as usual, is good and the action and script also quite good. Plus, there were a few surprises here and there--enough that it's not just another run of the mill genre picture.
Before I start talking about the plot, however, despite Scott making such good westerns, it's odd that in so many of them small technical details often...well...stink. Like too many of his films, there is a fight scene where the guy doing the fighting is OBVIOUSLY a stuntman. The only way it might have been easier to spot was if they'd used a black lady for these scenes! Also, at the very beginning, Scott has a shootout with some of the worst editing I've seen in years. Clearly, despite his making good films, often the budgets weren't all that great--and this is little more than a B-western in that regard. But, because he was such a great and seemingly effortless actor, you tend to look past these glitches.
In this film, Scott plays a bounty hunter--which makes a lot of sense considering the title! However, when he's looking into a year-old robbery, people in a particular small town act amazingly unfriendly. Concensus seems to be that if there are any crooks in town, well, it's no one's business since they didn't hurt anyone in the town! And because they folks aren't especially civic-minded, Randy's got his hands full.
The acting, as usual, is good and the action and script also quite good. Plus, there were a few surprises here and there--enough that it's not just another run of the mill genre picture.