An interesting film, written by Lamar Trotti (who also produced) from a W.R. Burnett story (novels 'The Asphalt Jungle', 'High Sierra'), in which a gang of pretty low worth bank robbers come across a ghost town and an old man (James Barton) and a girl (Anne Baxter). Thoughts immediately turn to gold and rape, which is quite unsettling. Even the more moral gang leader Gregory Peck literally leaps on her - she rewards him by parting his hair with a bullet. Baxter's great as the gutsy grand-daughter.
Anyway Peck obviously falls for Baxter, promises them half the gold - the rest of the gang want it all, Richard Widmark almost psychotically; John Russell's fixation on the girl is dangerous. Harry Morgan's crook is just a shit, young Robert Arthur has more decency, Charles Kemper is an alcoholic and useless.
Joe MacDonald catches the desolate Death Valley National Park locations in a quite eerie way, as well as Lyle Wheeler and Albert Hogsett's wonderful derelict town, in which the final showdown in the wind takes place. Interestingly, there's hardly any music, and that makes it all the more intense.
A Twentieth Century Fox production. A well directed film. Lots of good day-for-night, too.
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