Lightly watchable Western about confrontation between Sheepmen , cattlemen and homesteaders . This is an ordinary Hollywood Western , it turns out to be a mixture of action , fights , shootouts and struggles between gunslingers and sheepmen . In a Western little cattle-town , a pattern of the other celebrated cow towns of the Old west called Vinegarroon , there emerges problems as the facing off between cattle and sheep breeders escalates . The reason seems to be a troublesome stock : a herd of sheep . There appears a fast-draw stranger who behaves impulsively , he is Glenn Ford as the brave gunslinger/Pastor called Killian who results to be a priest - a two-fisted one however, who soon shall make at whatever means to keep peace and order against the unscrupulous rancher Esa Beck (John Anderson) and his treacherous villain son (David Carradine) . Later on , Jim Killian builds a church , captioning the following : ¨Mission Church of the Good Sheperd , J. Killian Pastor¨ . Meantime , Killian is fighting to stifle the conflicts between Sheepmen , homesteaders and cattlemen who hire a gunfighter (J.D. Cannon) , a former colleague from Yuma Territorial Prison . While , the astonished inhabitants decide to run him out at all costs . Glenn Ford finally cleans up an uncontrollably lawless Western town. ¨He is a new kind of gunfighter! . ¨Jim Killian Killed Like an Artist¨. ¨This is the Story of His Masterpiece¨. ¨Draw fast when you call him the Sheepman¡ ¨ .
This acceptable , meaty Western contains interesting plot , intrigue , thrills , shootouts , range war , bigotry , and results to be quite entertaining . Passable Western balances action , suspense and drama . It's a classical recounting about an ex-gunman/priest, a peace-loving who is really an expert shooter and surrounded by cowards and frightening people . This is a lively , beautifully shot , well paced and hugely agreeable western . The highlights of the film are the climatic showdowns , the surprise at church and , of course, the final confrontation . The traditional story and exciting screenplay was well written by Richard Carr , though clichés run through-out . Dalton Trumbo first contributed to this plot in the early 1960s but asked for it to be removed from the credits once the blacklist had been lifted . The enjoyable tale is enhanced for interesting moments developed among main characters and especially on the relationship between Glenn Ford and Barbara Hershey playing a naive Navajo Indian . Magnificently performed by Glenn Ford as the gunslinger-turned-preacher Jim Killian who is caught in the middle of a violent range war between cattlemen and sheep-men . He is an awesome expert in the art of conjuring sensational acting , here he gives a top-drawing performance in this atypical but thought-provoking western with a lot of reflection , distinguished moments and dramatical attitudes , in addition a multitude of entertaining situations . Top-notch plethora of secondary actors playing vicious , sadistic sociopaths as the heinous gunfighter David Carradine -who hangs cruelly an Indian- , J .D. Cannon as a ruthless pistolero , John Anderson as the evil landowner , as well as other good guys and friendly women as James Griffith as an upright Mormon , Noah Beery Jr. , Carolyn Jones , Harry Townes , Virginia Gregg , Barbara Babcock , Angelique Pettyjohn , among others .
It contains an evocative and atmospheric cinematography by Fred J. Koenekamp . As well as lively and moving musical score by Johnny Mandel , including some catching songs . The motion picture was professionally directed by Lee H Katzin . Filmmaker Lee H. Katzin started directing features in the late 1960s. Turning to made-for-television movies, he directed a lot of episodes of popular TV series as Jim West , The Young Riders , Renegade ,The Yellow Rose , Miami Vice , Mannix , The felony squad , Hondo , The Rat Patrol and several others . He became one of the busiest directors in that genre, churning out a slew of mostly routine fodder, including television rendition from cinematic hits as Dirty mission II and Dirty Dozen III . Every so often, however, one would rise above the rest: Along Came a Spider (1970) is a tense, gritty murder mystery, and a nice Western : The Quest (1976) . His two most famous credits directing in the cinema were, in fact, films where he replaced a previous director - Bernard Girard on "Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice?" and John Sturges on "Le Mans". Rating : 6/10 . Acceptable and passable Western . Well worth watching .
This acceptable , meaty Western contains interesting plot , intrigue , thrills , shootouts , range war , bigotry , and results to be quite entertaining . Passable Western balances action , suspense and drama . It's a classical recounting about an ex-gunman/priest, a peace-loving who is really an expert shooter and surrounded by cowards and frightening people . This is a lively , beautifully shot , well paced and hugely agreeable western . The highlights of the film are the climatic showdowns , the surprise at church and , of course, the final confrontation . The traditional story and exciting screenplay was well written by Richard Carr , though clichés run through-out . Dalton Trumbo first contributed to this plot in the early 1960s but asked for it to be removed from the credits once the blacklist had been lifted . The enjoyable tale is enhanced for interesting moments developed among main characters and especially on the relationship between Glenn Ford and Barbara Hershey playing a naive Navajo Indian . Magnificently performed by Glenn Ford as the gunslinger-turned-preacher Jim Killian who is caught in the middle of a violent range war between cattlemen and sheep-men . He is an awesome expert in the art of conjuring sensational acting , here he gives a top-drawing performance in this atypical but thought-provoking western with a lot of reflection , distinguished moments and dramatical attitudes , in addition a multitude of entertaining situations . Top-notch plethora of secondary actors playing vicious , sadistic sociopaths as the heinous gunfighter David Carradine -who hangs cruelly an Indian- , J .D. Cannon as a ruthless pistolero , John Anderson as the evil landowner , as well as other good guys and friendly women as James Griffith as an upright Mormon , Noah Beery Jr. , Carolyn Jones , Harry Townes , Virginia Gregg , Barbara Babcock , Angelique Pettyjohn , among others .
It contains an evocative and atmospheric cinematography by Fred J. Koenekamp . As well as lively and moving musical score by Johnny Mandel , including some catching songs . The motion picture was professionally directed by Lee H Katzin . Filmmaker Lee H. Katzin started directing features in the late 1960s. Turning to made-for-television movies, he directed a lot of episodes of popular TV series as Jim West , The Young Riders , Renegade ,The Yellow Rose , Miami Vice , Mannix , The felony squad , Hondo , The Rat Patrol and several others . He became one of the busiest directors in that genre, churning out a slew of mostly routine fodder, including television rendition from cinematic hits as Dirty mission II and Dirty Dozen III . Every so often, however, one would rise above the rest: Along Came a Spider (1970) is a tense, gritty murder mystery, and a nice Western : The Quest (1976) . His two most famous credits directing in the cinema were, in fact, films where he replaced a previous director - Bernard Girard on "Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice?" and John Sturges on "Le Mans". Rating : 6/10 . Acceptable and passable Western . Well worth watching .