Wise's critically acclaimed Western predicted by two decades the darkly existential swing the genre would take in the late 1960s. Wise used his Val Lewton sensibilities to create the closest thing to film noir the Western had seen yet: terse, realistic, moody, and moonlit. (Cinematography is by the great noir cameraman Nicholas Musuraca.) Robert Mitchum stars as a taciturn would-be cattleman who wanders into a struggle between homesteaders and ranchers, a battle manipulated by ruthless cattle rustler Robert Preston. Barbara Bel Geddes is the wildcat defender of the range (and not the kitchen kind), who steers cowpoke Mitchum toward his conscience. Mitchum gives one of his better if little known performances, and Wise creates an action film that, like its hero, is deceptively laconic. Memorable scenes include a long chase across snow-covered mountains, and a climactic barroom confrontation that outdoes itself for menacing effect.