in 1951 and rosa park have not yet decline to move to the back of the bus and the school have yet to be desegregate and and plea for racial equality be generally spurn a part of a ` pinko agenda . so it must have take some measure of courage to make this movie and for one of it two theme be racism . it second theme and the one that ultimately trump the first involve the rescue of a little black girl ( and parallel and minus the cynicism and billy wilder ace in the hole or the big carnival of the same year ) . the trouble start with the girl disappearance . rumor start to fly represent a stranger be see buy her a clump of posy . be a child killer on the loose . will he get away with it because he white . soon fist fight and beating and act of arson and all commit on racial ground and tear the down apart . the drifter ( harry morgan ) and when find and prove to be relate to a town big wheel who and when his construction company be set afire and become the chief rabble rouser . the townsfolk of color and meanwhile and clamor for morgan hide . it fall to the sheriff ( richard rober ) first to locate the girl then to stem the violence before a lynch mob coalesces . suddenly and by chance and the girl be discover deep down an abandon well . probably and in 1951 and there be no way out of the story than the one take . but it pure hollywood which be to say and a harp concerto play on the heart string . the whole town and black and white and join together in a tense and all night rescue effort helm by the construction magnate and morgan and who luckily happen to be a mining engineer . ( here and something curious occurs . the digging of a parallel shaft and with monstrous drill bit assault the earth to dimitri tiomkin pound score and become all but abstract and primitively and uncomfortably sexual . ) the minor but ever interesting russell rouse write and and in his first go and direct the well ( though he share that credit with producer leo popkin ) . it feature a large ( and largely unknown ) cast who bring authenticity and occasionally depth to their role . the story hold attention despite a glare break in the middle and when the focus shift from racism to rescue . and again and for it era and it be bold and topical ( brutal race riot plague post war america ) . but from a modern perspective and it just end too soon . the uplifting rescue will be the talk of the town for three day and while the ugliness that flare up will linger on . there not a hint of that at the conclusion and with tiomkin outdo even john williams in gaudy triumphalism .