Working with similar themes as on The Wild Bunch, Peckinpah is in a more romantic, lyrical mode here. Lovely visuals and cinematography and though there is violence it's much less cynical and blackhearted. Though he does love his iconic final stands doesn't he? McCrea and Scott play off each other as perfectly as one can do (and look for the legendary Warren Oates and LQ Jones in smaller roles). Great stuff.

Peckinpah's second feature is a fantastic revisionist take on concepts of good and evil, and whether these are morally objective terms or instead relative ideas applicable in different ways depending on the situation. McCrea and Scott make for a fantastic central duo, embodying the classic aspects of western lore in their performances as two seasoned gunfighters. Their chemistry together is just wonderful, the humour they share eventually paving the way for more dramatic things toward the end. It's the sort of film I'd normally ascribe four stars to, but something's holding me back. Not sure what, it just doesn't feel right... Still, completely recommended as a very interesting Western with no shortage of comments to pass on both the working of the genre and of human nature itself.

My favorite Peckinpah

Working with similar themes as on The Wild Bunch, Peckinpah is in a more romantic, lyrical mode here. Lovely visuals and cinematography and though there is violence it's much less cynical and blackhearted. Though he does love his iconic final stands doesn't he? McCrea and Scott play off each other as perfectly as one can do (and look for the legendary Warren Oates and LQ Jones in smaller roles). Great stuff.

Stunningly sleazy. Randolph Scott!!! Full of cranky bastards/near-rape. Wish I'd seen on big screen.

Two old timers take on a gig transporting gold. Apparently the two stars came out of retirement for one last western. It's a lot like watching a couple of funny old guys interact and be tough as nails.

The style is closer to that of the 50s westerns and it's interesting to see Peckinpah's early work as his style was developing. Entertaining and what a way to retire!

Vintage Peckinpah before he got to the slow motion blood spray 'Straw Dogs' type. This is GOOD STUFF - excellent script, funny - some good gunfights, a feisty young lass trying to make her way in the world, old blokes talking the talk and teaching the young fella. I found the music a bit overwhelming and unsubtle, big orchestrals, but overall - great Western.

Epic score, great final shoot-out... Not my favorite western but it surely serves every Western lover in rewarding ways!

Four stars for the wedding sequence alone, which is frightening in its implications.

My favorite Peckinpah

75/100

Severely underrated this when I last saw this, an age ago. The Wild Bunch is my favorite film of all time, so perhaps I found it a little too sedate, having come across this due to the Peckinpah brand name.

But for a second feature, this is almost a perfectly crafted diamond of a picture, with beautiful widescreen photography luring you in, just as a couple of legends start to drift out of the scene (dig the fall leaves - symbolism, anyone?). I loved the little Peckinpah touches (the leering wedding party, camera lurching; the omnidirectional machismo infecting everything; LQ Jones and Warren Oates), and the final showdown is impressively ragged and messy.

Great final shot too. Sure, its modest in its overall ambitions, but it does what it does exceptionally well.

At its heart a Budd Boetticher film: Randolph Scott rides with another man as they size each other, and their morality, up before ending with a shootout. Complicated by Scott being the villain in this piece. He does well. Complicated by this being Peckinpah's second debut. It's unbecoming for a newcomer to be so concerned with the passing of an epoch, if I recall the second word of the film is "old-timer", but much of the pleasure of the film comes from how Peckinpah refreshes Boetticher's concerns with his own obsessions - made flesh by Oate's gang (who will later be passed by in The Wild Bunch).

Notes:

Ride shifts from misogyny to feminism (well concern) as a country woman's limited opportunities are systematically ticked off.

McCrea admonishes Ron Starr for littering the countryside. In the early years of the twentieth century, in 1962. I thought of Mad Man's picnic scene.