Episodic and often boring, this Western saga of ambition, greed, lust and betrayal lacks in strong character development and passion. Don Murray, on the quick rise after "Bus Stop", seemed to fall off a mountain cliff with this one, playing an ambitious cowboy who longs to make something of himself but seems more like an over ambitious kid with the drive but not the dream. He creates an instant enemy in more mature rancher Richard Egan, gets a loan from alleged town bad girl Lee Remick, betrays her by marrying banker's niece Patricia Owens, and in spite of maturing, still seems to be a boy playing a man's game as he takes interest in local politics. Along the way, his actions bring on a wave of violence in his Montana community, but in 90 minutes, there's nothing but snippets of situations, and many plot related questions go unanswered.
I'm sure this looked gorgeous on the big screen, but it's a huge emotionally empty mess when viewed. Perhaps the mistake is in the editing, as there seems to be chunks of important plot missing. That makes the characters rather undeveloped and weakens the overall impact and their performances. I read that Lee Remick considered this her weakest film, ironic considering that she's the most interesting character in the film. Richard Egan, so noble in the same year's "A Summer Place", plays an absolutely despicable character here, but then again, Murray's character isn't all that likable either. In the wake of other epic westerns with much soap opera as part of their plot, this one is perhaps the most banal, and even with a catchy theme song and musical score, is as empty as they come.
I'm sure this looked gorgeous on the big screen, but it's a huge emotionally empty mess when viewed. Perhaps the mistake is in the editing, as there seems to be chunks of important plot missing. That makes the characters rather undeveloped and weakens the overall impact and their performances. I read that Lee Remick considered this her weakest film, ironic considering that she's the most interesting character in the film. Richard Egan, so noble in the same year's "A Summer Place", plays an absolutely despicable character here, but then again, Murray's character isn't all that likable either. In the wake of other epic westerns with much soap opera as part of their plot, this one is perhaps the most banal, and even with a catchy theme song and musical score, is as empty as they come.