The Law and Jake Wade

Richard Widmark, Robert Taylor, Patricia Owens, and the Rocky Mountains are the stars of this 1958 glorified potboiler Western, which strains to keep its thin plot going by constantly changing the scenery. Taylor plays the titular U.S. marshal whose shadowy backstory involves years of robbery and general mayhem as part of a gang run by psychopath Clint Hollister (Widmark). The film opens with Jake springing Clint from prison and then parting company after a dispute over the whereabouts of stolen money that Jake ran off with and buried. But Clint and the rest of the boys (Henry Silva, DeForest Kelley, Robert Middleton) catch up with the lawman and force him and his fiancée Peggy (Owens) to ride with them into the mountains and plains below to retrieve the loot. Director John Sturges alternates gorgeous location shots with scenes of Peggy and Jake under threat from Clint—a monotonous pattern that doesn't change until an interesting third act that finds everyone in serious danger. But the acting is solid, with a weathered-looking Taylor grim but cagey, Owens vulnerable yet strong, and Widmark typically brilliant as an icy villain you can't help but like. A strong optional purchase. (T. Keogh)