Although this film was directed by the great Raoul Walsh, the story by Niven Busch is the main factor in this western. Robert Mitchum is pursued by one tragedy after another, and he seems to be hopeless and cannot understand the reason of it all. At the toss of a coin he decides the most important things in his life, and he seems resigned to accept whatever his destiny will bring up, until circumstances force him to react and face the enormous obstacles that stand between himself and the woman he loves(Theresa Wright). This is a fascinating western, and even with the photography of the famous James Wong Howe, it does not have the beautiful scenery of "The Tall Men" or "The Big Trail", also directed by Walsh, the idea was to give it a dark mood.