There's always a prison escape or attempt or riot involving disgruntled, abused inmates in prison movies, so it's no shock that the last half of this prison film set in the old west deals with that. James Caan is the new warden and plans on running the prison with a more hands on, lighter touch, reducing discipline and basically try to understand these convicted felons the best he can. One of the inmates (David Carradine) is an old acquaintance, and is secretly planning the escape while Caan is busy romancing Rachel Ticotin, the widow of an executed prisoner and mother of a young son.
The great Brian Dennehy has a smaller part as a friend of Caan's, a local man of influence who offers great advice. It's a nothing part, but he turns it into a work of art. The film isn't violent outside of a hanging at the beginning, but once the shoot out at the prison happens and leads to escape, that changes with several violent murders occurring among the escapees. Caan and Carradine play characters of completely opposite personalities so their friendship (marred by betrayal) is rather odd, but the film has an intense pace and good character development. While not great, it's all the better if you're fans of the stars.
The great Brian Dennehy has a smaller part as a friend of Caan's, a local man of influence who offers great advice. It's a nothing part, but he turns it into a work of art. The film isn't violent outside of a hanging at the beginning, but once the shoot out at the prison happens and leads to escape, that changes with several violent murders occurring among the escapees. Caan and Carradine play characters of completely opposite personalities so their friendship (marred by betrayal) is rather odd, but the film has an intense pace and good character development. While not great, it's all the better if you're fans of the stars.