This early black-and-white Anthony Mann is a combination of atmospheric Western vistas and the ominous noir photography of John Alton. The love interest is a little dumb (a woman practicing law in Montana in the late 1860's?), but the themes of the ownership of land and the preservation of human dignity in the face of prejudice are very well handled. Robert Taylor in middle-age is always a bit wooden, but this actually helps him create the stoic character of Indian Lance Poole.