I like Westerns. If I had to pick a film to watch and knew nothing about it except its genre, I'd probably pick a Western. Knowing that this film is from the genre's peak period, and is directed by Sam Fuller and stars Barbara Stanwyck as the sexually-charged landowner with those titular 40 guns at her behest... well, it's a no-brainer that this was going to be awesome.

Not exactly sure what the h was happening in this movie, but there were some nice cinematic moments along w/ some hilariously strange ones. It's fast talking, feels like a noir, and has some pretty shoddy acting. YELLING YOUR LINES MEANS YOU'RE ACTING HARDER. A nice companion piece to the likewise sexually charged western, Johnny Guitar.

Magnificent cinematography and a really fun and well paced story. The two strong lead performances give it a nice character study feel.

Oddly little pulpy noir western. With musical bits.

Take one fairly good western. Add some pretty cheesy dialogue (be careful, it might go off in your face), some even worse acting from the supporting cast and several basically awful musical sections with the singer wanders around town dispensing really, really enlightening character summaries. If I were Griff, I'd have shot him.

985

Surprisingly not crude or exciting for Sam Fuller

For me the highlight is the fantastic widescreen photography, making excellent use of low-angle shots. Particularly stunning are the opening sequence and the exciting tornado scene. The plot is a little standard, but still keeps you interested. I'm a bit tired of "death of the old West" motifs but it's not overbearing and the way the characters lament their roles is interesting. Probably the biggest flaw is acting. Stanwyck's terrific and Sullivan is okay, but the supporting cast is pretty weak

998