Excellent Paramount western, which I regularely confound with William Dieterle's RED MOUNTAIN, starring the same Ladd. Rudolph Maté the director shows us here his talent for westerns, as he also will for THREE VIOLENT PEOPLE, VIOLENT MEN. A bit less with RAWHIDE YEARS though. I would prefer SHANE, I admit, and also maybe RED MOUNTAIN. Of course there is not much surprise in this classic western, nothing much unpredictable. Robert Keith is excellent in this role. Photography is also jaw dropping, and it contributes a lot to the pleasure I had to watch it after several decades. Awesome settings with desert and valley landscapes. One of the best of Alan Ladd.