Passable western from MGM and director Vincent Sherman is set in 1845, as the independent Republic of Texas is caught in turmoil over whether to accept annexation into the United States, or to stay independent and sign a mutual protection treaty with Mexico. Former US president Andrew Jackson (Lionel Barrymore) sends trusted envoy Devereaux Burke (Clark Gable) to Texas to try and sway the legislature to side with annexation, which sets Burke at odds with independence advocate Thomas Craden (Broderick Crawford). Burke and Craden also find themselves both after the affections of newspaper publisher Martha Ronda (Ava Gardner). Also featuring Beulah Bondi, Ed Begley, James Burke, William Farnum, William Conrad, Moroni Olsen, Russell Simpson, and George Hamilton in his debut.
The action gets bogged down in too much political talk, but this movie isn't without its merits. The big action finale is well-mounted, with an interesting variation on the battering ram that I don't think I've seen before. Gable and Gardner have screen chemistry, and Crawford gets a more complicated character than usual. I liked William Conrad's small role as a Cajun. Barrymore, reprising his turn as Andrew Jackson from 1936's The Gorgeous Hussy, has only a brief appearance, and he looks in ill health. This would prove to be his last character role. He appeared in one more movie, 1953's Main Street to Broadway, playing himself, before passing away in 1954 at age 76.
