Katcha S. (Katcha) from FORT JONES, CA
Reviewed on 7/2/2013...
To me its a huge shame and misunderstanding that a great bulk of viewers/critics rate this movie as a 'turkey'. Certainly its a near cliche of a western but that is exactly why its so wonderful - to me its a satire on melodramas and stereotype characters. And characters they are - perfectly cast and played by the actors. Sarah Miles as the 'trophy wife' who got tired of being unloved, Bert Reynolds as the ex-officer who made a mistake that cost him dearly, Lee J. Cobb as the lawman who understands the situation and sees it through, and especially George Hamilton as the 'wounded' husband who is more concerned about his pride than his wife. And others who play their parts in the drama behind the apparent story. The only ding of this movie is that it doesn't reveal the back story as well as the book did, but conversely the movie ends better than the book. Don't watch this expecting a classic western, but as a tale of people who lived during that time. Doubly interesting is that the story was written by a woman and is not a 'macho' tale as usually told by western (male) authors. I think Zane Grey would have enjoyed this one too.
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