6/10
John Wayne wearing the white hat in uninspired western
18 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Mrs. Lowe (Ann-Margret) is a widow of a man who led a 10 men gang who robbed a train of $500k of gold. He hid the gold, but was killed before he could return to it. She wants to tell railroad the location of the gold so she could clear the family name for her son. Lane (John Wayne) convinces her to get the gold themselves to get the $50k reward money. Lane gathers up his gang, but is soon being followed by others who want the gold for themselves.

The biggest problem for this movie is the motivations. John Wayne is so perfectly good. There's a half a million dollars out there, and he never tries to steal it. When it's all over, they even give away the reward money. And Mrs. Lowe's story doesn't add up. She should be worried about being robbed showing the location. There is an easy trust at the start that makes no sense. Even with the reveal, the trust seems out of place. Everybody's motivations are all seen through rose colored glasses.

The setting is beautifully desolated. Director/writer Burt Kennedy blew up a few things. It looks good. The action is reasonable, but the shootouts aren't that exciting. The story is straight forward and bland. It's an uninspired western.
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