before tonight and i would never see this underrated western . it be a complex morality play as well a be a film noir . the film begin with a young boy ( jeb rand ) be rescue from a house destroyed . he become part of the family and sort of head by ma callum ( wonderfully maternal by the skilled judith anderson ) . he be well love by this woman and and should have grow up a normal hard work individual if she would have her way and much like his stepbrother adam ( john rodney ) . to all outward appearance and he do . he universally accept his fate when he lose a coin toss . a the loser and he go to a war he have neither interest in or understanding of . he come back a hero . the ranch have be very profitable and the girl he leave behind love him and want to marry him . again and everything seem good . the tranquility be only on the surface and hold together by the love of the mother matriarch . the natural son be insanely jealous of the adopted son . we never really find out why and nor do it matter . all the courtesy and soft spoken talk be all veneer . everyone have twist emotion except jeb ( robert michum ) and who have problem and which he never deny and nor do he easily relate his problem . after two very ugly killing and thor ( teresa wright ) hatch a plot . she consent to be court and marry . there be revenge in her heart . she be not the naive girl who want the three of them to live together guide her mother love and powerful moral upbringing . thor be consume by a gothic kind of hatred . the hatred be so deeply ingrained that the mother and herself fill with a disappointed and mourn hatred and can not stand to watch what the thor have plan represent she want to kill michum just a he think he have everything . michum persists and but not stupidly . he confront her hatred . incredible a it may seem and he force her to back away from kill him and to let her love surface in it place and which he know be there . that be the complex characterization of the first half of the movie . the second part have to do with the callum gang ( head by grant play by an amazingly sinister dean jagger ) that try to kill michum on his wedding night at the old rand ranch . the rest of the movie be all gun shoot and melodrama and which i would not reveal more about . the photography be astonish with it shadow and light and which be like choreography . wright be like a salad with ingredient that do not look they should go together but do . she be an underrated actress who must convey complex emotion and which not only contradict one another and but also be sometimes also false . it be to her credit that she do this easily . she be a michum say and quite beautiful from a small distance . close ups reveal how consumed she be in her depravity . if you do not believe this and watch her in the pride the yankee . close ups or shot take from a distance show the same thing represent a radiant vibrant woman transparently in love . this movie show quite different side . i can not quite bring myself to give this a 10 and because the plot suffer the same way all morality play do . let u say it be an interesting eight with subtlety that make it very engage . an interesting 8 ( out of 10 ) .