Cooper's always good at playing the sympathetic rascal and he does it really well here. With Brennan as a really good foil their back and forth really raises the film. The background story about the old west is pretty good too, even if the rosy bookends are at odds with the harsh core of the film.

I fear this film is overrated. My biggest objection was the farcical attitude Wyler took with the characters--how jokingly he assembled the film. A man runs for his life and funny music is played? What on earth was he trying to say with that--that it's enjoyable to get lynched and the audience should laugh when the innocent guy's neck snaps? As I write this I guess I'm realizing that I found this film actually insulting. Not to mention historically inaccurate. And thus overrated.

Whenever Cooper and Brennan are together, this movie is first class. One of the best hangover scenes ever.