Portrayed with Ray's usual sympathy for outsiders, the central threesome are decent, flawed romantics .

A somewhat slow starter, once underway it is kept playing with growing interest under Nicholas Ray's firm direction.

The story isn't much (the security of family life versus the rootlessness and danger of working as a rodeo rider), but the situation is rich in emotional resonances which Ray conjures into life convincingly.

Nicholas Ray's beautifully layered, black-and-white rodeo picture.