Robert Culp doesn't seem like a Western actor. He was in a half hour TV Western in the '50's called Trackdown in which he played a Texas Ranger. I watched an episode this morning that was written by Sam Peckinpah.
It was a little like Bad Day At Black Rock. Robert Culp pursues Lee Van Cleef into a town. The townsfolk protect Lee Van Cleef and plan to murder Robert Culp once it's dark. They take away his gun. They won't give him a room at the hotel. He walks around looking for someone to help him. He's mocked by an obnoxious old Confederate.
I was disappointed that Culp only killed one guy. He could have killed a lot more without upsetting the audience. He should have at least pistol-whipped the Confederate guy.
The one nice twist was that Lee Van Cleef was killed by his dead partner's girlfriend. He wanted her to shoot in Robert Culp's general direction while he made his getaway and slapped her when she refused. So she shot him and good for her. They never let women kill people in these shows.
In the end, she feels her life is over with the death of her boyfriend. There's nothing left for her until she realizes that she's entitled to a lot of reward money for killing Lee Van Cleef.
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