It's the day of the annual high-stakes poker game in Laredo, an eagerly anticipated event reserved for the richest men of the territory. But into the smoke-filled backroom of the host saloon comes a weak-willed family man (Henry Fonda), who's coincidentally passing through town with a large wad of money in his possession. Despite the protests of his demure wife (Joanne Woodward), he's drawn into the game, which holds many twists for everybody. This plain-looking Western plays like a TV movie that got an upgrade to an A-level cast: along with Fonda and Woodward, there's a choice array of character players at or near the poker table, including Jason Robards, Kevin McCarthy, Charles Bickford, Burgess Meredith, Paul Ford, and veteran heavy Robert Middleton. All of which makes it easy to ignore the cheap production values and enjoy the enormous bluff at the heart of the game. The director was Fielder Cook, a longtime veteran of high-quality television (including series teleplays from the Fifties golden age and the superb Waltons pilot, The Homecoming), an able hand with this kind of thing. The denouement won't shock too many people, but it makes for a satisfying hand--not a straight flush, but a nice little three of a kind. --Robert HortonMore...
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