Preston is in a comedy and delivers a hilarious performance. McCrea is in an action-drama and is excellent.

It's a bit graceless compared to other Westerns of the day, especially John Ford's Stagecoach (both were inspired by stories by Ernest Haycox), but it works in a kind of old-fashioned, broad-spirited way.

This latest de Mille epic contains all the Excelsior qualities we expect in his work but it is never as funny as The Crusades and he has lost his touch with crowds, the stamp of a broad, popular genius who used to remind us a little of Frith.

Released in 1939 and boasting patriotic zeal, DeMille's empire-building epic is one of his most impressive pictures, with wonderful performances from Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea at their peak.