The Purple Hills

Pretty good oater, at least until the climax, which is poorly staged. Apparently, the Apaches practice never hitting anything they shoot at. Good thing for the white men, but a real departure from reality, especially when the red men level a steady fusillade. To bad this episode is not up to what's gone before.

The first part is good. We don't know who to root for since both Nelson and Taylor are flawed. They're both bounty hunters and not too trustworthy. This is a period when revisionist westerns were beginning to take hold, so there are no purely white hats or black hats. That kind of ambiguity adds to story interest, which, in this case, also includes fine desert photography.

Nothing special here, except a payday for two aging stars and part of a good story.