Review

  • Warning: Spoilers
    Andrew Duggan (as Frank Moxon) put the wrong man into that category.

    When Cheyenne Bodie is ambushed by a couple of strangers, Moxon saves his life because, he says, the men mistook Cheyenne for Moxon. How that happened is the only real mystery here; the two men are nothing alike, certainly not the "same size," as Moxon speculated (in his dreams). Anyway, they ride on together to the next town where Cheyenne learns that bounty hunter Moxon's reputation has preceded him; he is despised by everyone because the men he hunts are seldom delivered alive for trial. Cheyenne had already begun to suspect that, despite his claims to the contrary, Moxon actually enjoys his job.

    There will be no cooperation from those "pious fools" in arresting the wanted man, John Sevier (James Gavin), who just happens to be about the most revered man in the town. After Moxon kills another local man he had provoked into a showdown in front of everybody, the outraged townsmen threaten to hang the bounty hunter. They already despised him, believing him to be a stone-cold killer, and can think of no other way to stop him. Unfortunately for Cheyenne, he's considered guilty by association, so they want to string him up too.

    Being a compassionate and reasonable man, Cheyenne empathizes with the prisoner and had convinced Sevier that he will reach Kansas City for a fair trial. So after a tense standoff, the accused man agrees to go with Moxon as long as Cheyenne is with them. The townspeople relent but Moxon, who by now has fully embraced his true psychotic nature, resents having lost total control of the situation, and they aren't out of town long before he challenges Cheyenne to the unavoidable duel. Even given the opportunity to benefit from association with an idealist like Cheyenne Bodie, some people really are beyond redemption.

    As usual, Clint Walker's Cheyenne is the focus of attention when he's onscreen, but he has able support from an excellent cast, the setting is authentic, the script is good, and there is a moral to the story without being preachy.