A rarely-seen favorite

So glad this one recently resurfaced on TCM. I agree that it ends too abruptly, but director Wellman does the job beautifully with no-nonsense direction, and a script that, for the most part, hits home. For my tastes I would have like to have seen a little less of Taylor and Denise Darcel as a developing love interest, and a lot more of Hope Emerson (and some of the other women).....and I was a mite perplexed that the loss of Darcel's horse in her attempted runaway didn't seem to much faze Taylor (wouldn't the horses be as valuable as the human cargo?) But I put that down to 1950s necessary plot mechanics. As tough westerns go, this one has moments that qualify it as buried treasure. Greatly worth a rewatch - or a first time intro!