Wow, keep the feminists and National Alliance of Women away from this one! I couldn't believe the premise laid out in the opening minutes (actually I can believe it, but it's really over the top) when it was stated that the law, such as it was in 1842 Oregon, held that women were for the taking by the strongest man who could affect his will on her and claim her for his own. After that, she became his property until he died.
Talk about a dysfunctional family, I'm still thinking about how Tarp Penny (Neville Brand) shot his Pa (Emile Meyer) in the back! over the old Montgomery Doctrine stated above. George Montgomery (Herbert Rudley) was king of the hill in this story, with his wife Hannah (Yvonne De Carlo) the top prize. Funny, but I didn't get much of a sense that Hannah objected to being his wife for the most part until things got intense with the unjust hanging of Dan Kirby (John Gavin). Otherwise it didn't appear that she was much opposed to this particular law of the Oregon jungle.
I'll say this for Dan Kirby's widow Paca (Mara Corday), she sure pulled a neat double cross on Montgomery to save hero Tex Kirby (Rory Calhoun) the trouble. He had his own hands full dealing with the Penny's, Tarp and his Pa. If you think about it, Tarp never had to atone for the problem that opened the story, the attack on Hannah Montgomery. But that issue was settled when he went up against Tex for the final showdown. I thought it a bit too coincidental that Tex and Tarp ran out of bullets at the same time, at which point Tarp found himself on the horns of a dilemma.
Nor did it seem very realistic that Hannah would simply run off with Tex to close out the story, but that's how a lot of these Westerns ended for lack of something more creative. It's too bad we never got to see what ever happened to Sile Doty (Robert Wilke). Left to my own imagination, I'd like to think that Paca got her Yakima revenge on his butt too.
Talk about a dysfunctional family, I'm still thinking about how Tarp Penny (Neville Brand) shot his Pa (Emile Meyer) in the back! over the old Montgomery Doctrine stated above. George Montgomery (Herbert Rudley) was king of the hill in this story, with his wife Hannah (Yvonne De Carlo) the top prize. Funny, but I didn't get much of a sense that Hannah objected to being his wife for the most part until things got intense with the unjust hanging of Dan Kirby (John Gavin). Otherwise it didn't appear that she was much opposed to this particular law of the Oregon jungle.
I'll say this for Dan Kirby's widow Paca (Mara Corday), she sure pulled a neat double cross on Montgomery to save hero Tex Kirby (Rory Calhoun) the trouble. He had his own hands full dealing with the Penny's, Tarp and his Pa. If you think about it, Tarp never had to atone for the problem that opened the story, the attack on Hannah Montgomery. But that issue was settled when he went up against Tex for the final showdown. I thought it a bit too coincidental that Tex and Tarp ran out of bullets at the same time, at which point Tarp found himself on the horns of a dilemma.
Nor did it seem very realistic that Hannah would simply run off with Tex to close out the story, but that's how a lot of these Westerns ended for lack of something more creative. It's too bad we never got to see what ever happened to Sile Doty (Robert Wilke). Left to my own imagination, I'd like to think that Paca got her Yakima revenge on his butt too.