This film was produced at a time when the old Hayes Code was breaking down and the MPAA was still trying to figure out which rating buckets to throw movies into. So this was the first of the "grittier" western that we saw before the whole genre fell out of favor.
The plot is a town that hired a gunslinger to be its marshal, with the understanding he was to eliminate bad guys with extreme prejudice. Now the town has a railroad and is looking for investment and wants to become all modern and such, at the cusp of the 20th century, and they want their Marshall gone. Except he doesn't want to go.
Now I think the problem with this film is that they can't think of any other way to get rid of this guy other than killing him. Oh, wait, they get the county sheriff (Played by John Saxon) to ask him nicely to resign. It seems like the mass ambush at the end is more symbolic than practical.
It's a fun film to watch.
The plot is a town that hired a gunslinger to be its marshal, with the understanding he was to eliminate bad guys with extreme prejudice. Now the town has a railroad and is looking for investment and wants to become all modern and such, at the cusp of the 20th century, and they want their Marshall gone. Except he doesn't want to go.
Now I think the problem with this film is that they can't think of any other way to get rid of this guy other than killing him. Oh, wait, they get the county sheriff (Played by John Saxon) to ask him nicely to resign. It seems like the mass ambush at the end is more symbolic than practical.
It's a fun film to watch.