He hears arch-rival Big John McKay is headed toward town so he warns Mayor Wilker, a typical cheap politician, and others in Progress about rumor of an impending train robbery.

After being taken prisoner, Flagg escapes death thanks to McKay's intervention after the youthful Waco takes over the gang, but the two old enemies end up in a fistfight.

The new town marshal asks Flagg to take back his badge for his heroic deed, but he turns down the opportunity.

Howard Thompson of The New York Times said, "Whatever possessed these three actors [Mitchum, Kennedy and Balsam] to amble through such a dinky prairie oyster stumps us.

And so does the uncertain tone of the picture, methodically directed by Burt Kennedy, which only toward the end asserts itself, clearly and lamely, as a good-natured spoof.

"[4] Variety wrote that the film "provides what in today's market is acceptable family fare, laughs overshadowing the serious moments.

"[6] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune also gave it 2.5 stars out of 4, calling it "a pleasant enough oater that is low on violence and drama.

'"[7] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times called the film "slow, gross, heavy-handed, neither funny nor sweetly sad.

"[1] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote, "Burt Kennedy's direction of this hokum is lively and likeable, but I'd prefer an older sort of hokum: Western melodrama with comic interludes or undercurrents, like 'Ride the High Country' and 'True Grit' at its infrequent best and William Wyler's 'The Westerner,' rather than deliberate, gratuitous spoofing.