The theme of the film is the "passing" of the West, the clash between a traditional character and the politics and demands of modern society.

Patch had humiliated one of the town's councilmen, Andrew Oxley, (a cowardly lawyer) at the ad hoc "firing-notice meeting" by slapping him in disgust.

The man's son vowed revenge, egged on by some of the councilmen, who saw this as a convenient way of ridding themselves of the problematic town marshal.

Patch explains to the dying youth that his late "father" had shot a man in the back many years ago, killing him.

The film began under the direction of Robert Totten, an experienced television director (Gunsmoke, The Legend of Jesse James).

The New York Times commented that the film was "sharply directed by Allen Smithee who has an adroit facility for scanning faces and extracting sharp background detail,"[1] Roger Ebert called the film "an extraordinary western ... director Allen Smithee, a name I'm not familiar with, allows his story to unfold naturally.