Tom Horn

Would-be nihilistic western is painful failure. The material has been done to death and much more effectively. 'Lonely is the Hunter' and 'Judge Roy Bean' come to mind. A slapped-together story is unsupported by lackadaisical editing (the kind of editing where sunsets are just there because they're pretty). A pleasant surprise is that Linda Evans holds up her end but to no particular effect. She's the school marm, natch. Lots of talent wasted, most obviously Steve McQueen. Elisha Cook and Slim Pickens are trotted out as scene dressing. There are a couple of shootouts that are not bad. Ernest Gold score works overtime to add import but is overwhelmed by the pointlessness.