I usually avoid Westerns like the plague, but the pedigree on this film (debut of theater director Sherin, starring Lancaster, Cypher, & Clark and featuring Jordan & Elizondo in their first movie roles) kept me interested til the, well, offbeat ending. Beautiful location scenery and smart writing helps this story of a Mexican sheriff (Lancaster) betrayed and humiliated in a most blasphemous way by a vile land baron (Cypher) over the honor of a widowed Apache woman. Clark plays the baron's kindhearted lover who admires the sheriff for his decency and bravery. Jordan is especially smarmy here as a cowardly would-be gunslinger. Because of brief but bloody violence, a few "S" words, and a threatened rape, this film isn't suitable for kids under 14, but it would make a good object lesson in morality for teenagers. A nice companion piece to Henry Fonda in "The Ox-Bow Incident".