If you've seen Bad Day at Black Rock you've seen the better version of this.
A crippled veteran (Tracy a missing hand/Kilmer a missing leg) arrives in a closely knit and secretive older west style town with something to hide asking about a veteran Hispanic Hero (in Black Rock it was a Japanese who had a war hero son). In both the person searched for had been murdered. Both town's were isolated and off the main route.
One chief bad guy and a couple of henchmen and a whole town full of people looking away, staying uninvolved.
Val Kilmer - Spencer Tracy; Gary Cole - Robert Ryan; Jennifer Esposito - Ann Francis; Jay Jablonski - Dean Jagger; The wildflower at the grave; The empty/full hotel and reluctant clerk; the unavailable taxicab or rental car; Christopher Gehrman - Ernest Borgnine; Scott Burkett or David Frye (take your pick) - Lee Marvin; Harassment at lunchtime in diner ending in a man through screen door
Bowl of Chili - Bowl of Chili; Milk - Ketchup
Too many coincidences to not accept that this borrowed heavily from Bad Day At Black Rock and updated it. I'm not saying it's plagiarism, but someone surely saw and liked Bad Day and later took pen in hand and the gray matter replayed an impression left into a new story; honest mistake.
The only things missing were the jeep/car chase, Walter Brennan's role, the Molotov cocktail, and the telegrapher (which wouldn't be needed because of the era). The Conspiracy added more bad guys and didn't have a train, but they did have a carpool.
Another coincidence: Kilmer has made an extraordinary amount of movies in New Mexico; he must like it there, or perhaps even lives there??
Some of this town looked a lot like the Silverado set, I think I saw the saloon where Costner backed out and drew and fired at 90 degree angles at bad guys.
A crippled veteran (Tracy a missing hand/Kilmer a missing leg) arrives in a closely knit and secretive older west style town with something to hide asking about a veteran Hispanic Hero (in Black Rock it was a Japanese who had a war hero son). In both the person searched for had been murdered. Both town's were isolated and off the main route.
One chief bad guy and a couple of henchmen and a whole town full of people looking away, staying uninvolved.
Val Kilmer - Spencer Tracy; Gary Cole - Robert Ryan; Jennifer Esposito - Ann Francis; Jay Jablonski - Dean Jagger; The wildflower at the grave; The empty/full hotel and reluctant clerk; the unavailable taxicab or rental car; Christopher Gehrman - Ernest Borgnine; Scott Burkett or David Frye (take your pick) - Lee Marvin; Harassment at lunchtime in diner ending in a man through screen door
Bowl of Chili - Bowl of Chili; Milk - Ketchup
Too many coincidences to not accept that this borrowed heavily from Bad Day At Black Rock and updated it. I'm not saying it's plagiarism, but someone surely saw and liked Bad Day and later took pen in hand and the gray matter replayed an impression left into a new story; honest mistake.
The only things missing were the jeep/car chase, Walter Brennan's role, the Molotov cocktail, and the telegrapher (which wouldn't be needed because of the era). The Conspiracy added more bad guys and didn't have a train, but they did have a carpool.
Another coincidence: Kilmer has made an extraordinary amount of movies in New Mexico; he must like it there, or perhaps even lives there??
Some of this town looked a lot like the Silverado set, I think I saw the saloon where Costner backed out and drew and fired at 90 degree angles at bad guys.