Pernell Roberts is Ross, a marshal who is after bank robber Nunez (Julian Mateos). Nunez sneaks into town, tries to bed his girlfriend Myra (Sue Lyon), and his caught by her father (Charles Drace). Nunez runs off, headed to Mexico, and Myra's father kills himself. Ross comes to town, shadowed by Pinkerton agent Brown (Leslie Nielsen). Ross leaves into the desert to find Nunez with Brown along for the ride. Myra soon follows the two man posse. Once the group starts running low on water, I started running low on my enjoyment of the film.
This wannabe character study starts out okay. Ross is the honest lawman on his last case. Nielsen is slimy as the detective whose sole goal is to kill Nunez. Lyon is a pretty bundle of nerves still trying to understand how her life ended up like this. The film was shot on location in Spain, but the editing does not live up to the seemingly endless, gorgeous desert. I was reminded of the work of Ed Wood, as scenes would end without a point, or feature insert shots of the actors doing something else besides acting. Nielsen is such a heavy villain, you wish someone would shoot him and shut him up. Lots of inappropriate songs by Janis Ian, an unnecessary assault, and too many scenes of people arguing over water while holding weapons on each other add up to a less than successful western. Do not take a ride with this four. I cannot recommend it.
