Excellent Western which is uncharacteristic in its distinctly unglamorous viewpoint but elegiac in tone. Gries' own character-driven script is first-rate, and the entire cast - stalwarts in the genre and novices alike - responds with beautifully-judged performances; particularly effective is Donald Pleasence as the bible-thumping villain, with his no-good family in tow (perhaps inspired by the equally disreputable Clanton Gang from John Ford's MY DARLING CLEMENTINE [1946]). In addition, Lucien Ballard's cinematography and David Raksin's score complement the film nicely.
Charlton Heston was at perhaps the most satisfying phase of his acting career: other films of the period include THE WAR LORD (1965), KHARTOUM (1966), COUNTERPOINT (1967) and PLANET OF THE APES (1968); he made a number of Westerns, but three in particular stand out from the lot - William Wyler's THE BIG COUNTRY (1958), Sam Peckinpah's MAJOR DUNDEE (1965) and this one. Incidentally, the relationship depicted here between a cowboy and a lonely woman living with her young son (who comes to idolize him) was also at the centre of two other fine Westerns I've just watched - HONDO (1953) and THE TIN STAR (1957)!
Unfortunately, Gries died at a relatively young age; this was his most substantial feature film, though he later collaborated twice more with Heston on NUMBER ONE (1969) and THE HAWAIIANS (1970).
