Writers: Sydney Boehm, Francis M. Cockrell, Herbert Ravenel Sass
Composer: Roy Webb
Starring: Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone, Lee Marvin, Tommy Rettig, Peter Graves, Douglas Spencer, Paul Cavanagh, Will Wright, James Best, John Dierkes, Helen Ford, Claude Akins, Dolores Fuller, William Schallert
More info: IMDb
Tagline: The suspense thriller of the year!
Plot: A group of confederate prisoners escape to Canada and plan to rob the banks and set fire to the small town of Saint Albans in Vermont. To get the lie of the land, their leader spends a few days in the town and finds he is getting drawn into its life and especially into that of an attractive widow and her son.
My rating: 6.5/10
Will I watch it again? No.
I know nothing of the true account this story depicts. I'm sure the fact that the raid happened and that it was Confederate soldiers who executed is correct but I would assume everything else is bullshit to create an interesting story. With that in mind, I'm sure Major Benton's (Heflin) burgeoning love affair with Katy (Bancroft) is a complete fabrication. And because of the Hollywood tropes of what becomes of these types of relationships at the ends of movies, I expected more of the same. I was shocked at the ending and I did not see that coming. The who's who of character actors makes this more fun for nerds like me. It's a good little picture that has a little action (only at the beginning and at the end) and only hints at a romance (thankfully, they don't get bogged down into that). The rest is the preparation for the big finale and the finale isn't all that exciting except for that certain thing that happens (or doesn't happen). You can watch the flick on YouTube above.
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