A pontificating judge and a pacifist sheriff who does not even wear a gun form the basis for the moralising undertone of this otherwise passable western. All we need is a sermonising minister and an anti-gun crusader and you'd have the total liberal mix. Boys, this is the wild west (ok, California in 1848 just after the annexation from Mexico). The gun is still the law. Kill or be killed is the doctrine. The character played by Dennis Hopper has a gunfight with a Mexican (oh, those racist undertones again!) Was it self-defence or murder? Obviously, he is faster on the draw but a lousy shot. He wounds the Mexican - twice! Then he approaches the downed figure and puts a third slug into him, killing him. Obviously, the first two shots were fired in self-defence, but the third one constituted cold-blooded murder. The trial is presided over by a liberal judge from the east who is a total stranger to the ways of the west. Sometimes you feel like shouting, "For God's sake. Judge, get out of the way and let the two sides shoot it out! Good acting by Dennis Hopper as the gun-happy gunslinger helps to rescue the movie from pedestrian irrelevance. And Festus is there too (Ken Curtus from Gunsmoke fame). I almost expected to see Marshall Dillon to come striding into the film at any moment!
Review of The Young Land
