Stewart plays a bounty hunter (!) out to catch Robert Ryan, wanted for killing a marshal. He is viciously determined to find this man, dead or alive, and collect the 5000 dollars, but runs into trouble in the form of Ralph Meeker, a cocky ex-solider with a potentially risky past, and Millard Mitchell, an old prospector who basically got the Walter Brennan role. I say trouble because now Stewart, obsessed with finding this man and collecting the money, has to deal with two men who may also want a piece of the action. Janet Leigh shows up as the woman they find when they catch up with Ryan, which is only about fifteen minutes into the picture.
Once Ryan and Leigh are captured, the real battle begins, as Ryan devises ways to attempt to pit the three men against each other, and escape. Right away, he creates some wounds, as he tells Mitchell and Meeker of Stewart's real purpose - he bets on Stewart never having told them he was a bounty hunter, and he is correct. Later on, he attempts to stir up concern in both Stewart and Meeker about what the other might do to Leigh - he tells each one of them that the other is the type to get what he wants. Stewart is concerned because he doesn't trust Meeker; while Meeker is concerned just because he doesn't want to lose a potential conquest.
Soon we realize that Stewart's obsession is a little more complicated, and that the reason he wants the money has something to do with his past, which he wants to correct.
James Stewart delivers another image-altering performance; just as he did with his Alfred Hitchcock films, Stewart puts a dark spin on the material. The first shot establishes his role; he is a tough guy, or at least a very determined one, and certainly similar characteristics could be expected in a John Wayne picture. Yet Stewart is not Wayne - and that's a good thing! John Wayne can do many things, but he is more of a strong presence than a really complicated actor, and would be unable (or unwilling?) to exploit the character's painful weaknesses. When Stewart freaks out during a nightmare (actually a recollection of the events which drove him to this obsession of his), you realize that John Wayne would probably never touch this material. It'd make him look bad!
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