Review of Warlock

(6 and a half stars)
Like many towns in the Old West, Warlock has a little problem with gun violence, so the townspeople bring in Marshal Clay Blaisedell (by the stalwart Henry Fonda) to end the rampage of the McQuown gang.
At the Marshal's side is Tom Morgan, played by the effortlessly cool Anthony Quinn, and it's implied that the two men have a storied history.
When Johnny Gannon, played by Richard Widmark, breaks away from the McQuown gang, the town is at a crossroads. Will they let the law work out their challenges, or have the Marshal clean things up using his "very particular set of skills."
Ultimately, this is an entertaining classic Western with all the trimmings. Terrorized townspeople, a complicated hero, the question of vigilante justice vs. laying down the law. There are shootouts, the holdup of a stagecoach, and people with complex pasts drifting back into the lives of others to throw a branding iron into the wagon wheel (or some such analogy). This is a deep bench of performers, and while some of the characters are somewhat one-dimensional, it seems to fit the tone of a western of that era. Fans of the early Star Trek will enjoy catching a glimpse of "Doc" as one of the bad guys. All in all, this was an ok western, but I wouldn't put it in the pantheon of great westerns.