Kirk Douglas is not just a little bit annoyed in this dark psychological western. He is monumentally pissed off. And who wouldn't be after their best mate's sprog brutally violates and murders your missus.
A tense and good-looking brainy Western in the "time factor" tradition first established by High Noon, this is a good, but not strikingly exceptional tale of passion and horror in old America. But there are some agreeably gruesome characters who you wouldn't want to meet down a dark valley.
"Ain't there anyone in this town that ain't afraid of Craig Beldon?" says our hero at one point. "Yeah," says a helpful citizen, "the graveyard's full of 'em."