A little gem of a John Wayne/Rock Hudson western. The issue of slavery is going to be in the back of my mind in any film with the Confederates as the heroes, especially when it's completely ignored, but the take on post-Civil War sentiments between them and the Union is very thoughtful in this, as is everything else that takes place within the film's narrative. It's a film which wears its heart on its sleeve, and that is its greatest virtue alongside the charismatic cast.

Saw this on AMC. Fairly mediocre and the whole Confederate thing feels like its trying to capitalize on Gone with the Wind. Rock Hudson steals the show, Wayne feels like he's phoning it in.

Andrew V. McLaglen is no stylist, but he paid his dues on HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL, knows the West, knows his characters and knows how to tell a story. This is as large-scale a western as I've ever seen, with literally thousands of horses on screen in the same shot (and none of them are CGI-created! Reality at last!). Wayne does his thing per usual and is a gas to watch; Hudson performs better than expected in this big story about how deep wounds can begin to heal. Good stuff.