This had mediocre B movie Western branded all over it . Co-written by Philip Yordan whose main output at the time was indeed B movie Westerns one didn't hold out much hope for this . Even the title conjures up images of men having to do what men have to do . When the melodramatic music blazed across the screen you just knew you're going to be watch Western melodrama
Yordan did write THE BIG COMBO a few years later , a film that is now regarded as a Film Noir classic and BAD MEN OF TOMBSTONE does have a relatively nourish feel to it . Tom Horn finds himself cheated at a game of cards which leads to him being imprisoned in the town jail where he meets William Morgan who has a plan to break out . Teaming up with Morgan's gang Horn finds himself as a fugitive as he plans his revenge
You're not watching a Western where the lines between black and white are clearly drawn and there is a streak of amorality running throughout the movie . Horn quite happily joins on robberies carried out by the Morgan gang though it is noticeable that Horn doesn't *** anyone who doesn't deserve a bullet . The final third is let down by an unlikely love affair and then as you might expect the resolution is fairly predictable but for a film that I expected to be mediocre it did exceed my expectations to an extent
