Burt Lancaster plays the adopted son of a big cattle rancher, targeted by a pair of violent, stupid brothers angry about their sister having a kid out of wedlock. Note they make no attempt to help provide for or raise the kid (not that she asks them to), they're just here to find and kill the dad, over her objections and refusal to name the father.
It's not Lancaster, rather the birth son (played by Robert Walker) of his adoptive father. Except Walker's married, and a chickenshit, so he won't cop to being the father. Even after his wife (Joanne Dru) figures it out (because Lancaster brought the new mom $500 and Walker just so happened to overdraw with a $500 withdrawal he can't explain.), Walker insists that was to help Lancaster.
Walker plays his role very well, as a conniving, quick-talking, back-stabber. He's got a perfect shit-eating grin, reminding me of the worst coworkers I ever had. The ones who always have an excuse, who find any way they can to shirk even easy duties and don't care if that screws everyone else. Who can never understand why you're making such a big deal about it. They didn't do anything wrong!
The movie is really about how everyone has made excuses for Walker his entire life, and what kind of person that produces. His dad won't admit the truth about his son to himself. Lancaster knows Walker's a piece of crap, but thinks he owes everything to the old man, so he covers for him. Dru, I think, convinced herself Walker was a better man than he was. Or else got tired of waiting for Lancaster to make a move, because they're clearly interested in each other.
So, to a lesser extent, it's about wondering when Lancaster is finally going to reach his limit with shielding Walker. It takes longer than it ought to, but I think Lancaster takes his frustration out on other people. The idiot brothers, a guy who steals four of their cattle. Lancaster does a fair amount of punching and getting punched, but I wonder if he'd rather be fighting someone else.
The final showdown takes a while to set up, then resolves very quickly, but at least it plays off Walker's established tendencies. He uses the cheapest, readily available goons (the 2 brothers), then doesn't stick around to make sure they finish the job because it's more important to get a head start running.
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