The story takes place in a closed western town, a bar, a street, a church, a hotel and a small platform almost constitute the entire set of the film. The town's just-retired sheriff, Kay, suddenly learned on his wedding day that a death-row inmate he had captured was acquitted and would return to the town to seek revenge for him. With a strong sense of responsibility, he ignored his wife's actions. Repeatedly discouraged, decided to stay to protect the safety of the town.
Frank Miller is an arrogant and arrogant marksman. Five years ago, Kay and six brilliant deputies fought hard to capture him and sent him to the court. At that time, he threatened to take revenge. Now he's back with 3 old helpers with a scary name. Kai tried to ask the former deputy for help, but some of them, like Harvey, asked Kai to meet the conditions for him to take over as the next sheriff before they were willing to help. Please Ying, and when she saw other people, she didn't take any action, and she also flinched. Kai had to go to taverns and churches to find someone to challenge him, but these people either euphemistically or simply found various reasons to refuse. Some people believe that Frank Miller's return is due to a personal feud with Kay five years ago, and that Kay should leave forever so that the town can be safe. Kai was also hesitant. He's no longer a sheriff and has good reason to leave with his new wife. But he thought that Miller's return was to take revenge on himself, and he felt that he had an unshirkable responsibility for the safety of the town and could not leave easily. Some residents in the town, because they were afraid of Miller, made goodwill to Miller's subordinates and isolated Kai for temporary safety. Some people felt that Kay was no longer the sheriff, and turned a deaf ear to his calls and advice, as if Miller's return was Kay's business alone, and had nothing to do with the safety of the town. Some people even waited to see the good show between Miller and Kay with the mentality of watching the tiger fight. The town's magistrate fled, and the town's mayor opposed the bloody gunfight in order to maintain the town's so-called image and believed that Kay should leave to maintain the town's surface peace. Kai's new wife persuaded him to leave by threatening to leave him, but Kai still refused to leave despite the contradictions in his heart.
Miller's train will arrive at ten minutes at noon, but minutes pass by, but no one is willing to help Kai, only some old and weak residents offer help out of a sense of justice, but Kai knows that they are not strong enough, even if they go. It was also a death sentence, and politely refused. As the hands on the clock got closer to noon, the conflict between Kai's body and mind became more and more intense, and Kai's efforts to run around became more and more futile, like the last struggle of the desperate. Finally he sat down quietly and wrote a farewell letter to his wife.
The noon train pulls into the platform—Miller arrives. There were more people in the town, and the street in the midday sun was deserted and terribly silent. People were breathing in the house, and some would rather suffer with conscience than have the courage to fight. So the shootout began. As the highlight of a Western movie, the shootout only takes up about ten minutes in this ninety-minute film, which is very briefly portrayed. With his calm and superb marksmanship and the mentality of resolutely going to death, Kai killed the two gangsters, but was helpless outnumbered, and he was seriously injured. The wife, who heard the gunshots, ran off the train at the last second and returned to the deserted town. She thought she would see her husband's body, but unexpectedly happened to meet her wounded husband and was attacked by two gangsters. In desperation, she decisively shot a gangster from behind and killed him. When the vicious Miller took her hostage, she bravely scuffled with Miller, distracting Miller and giving Kai the most important chance to fight back, killing Miller.
Miller died, and the townspeople came out of the house. The crisis is over, and old Sheriff Kay single-handedly brings lasting peace to the town. But no one dared to cheer, and there was endless silence all around. At the most dangerous moment, no one came to help Kai save the town, only his beloved wife, with her love for him, helped him as a weak woman. Kai coldly dropped the police badge on his chest and left silently with his wife.
This film, with the return of the gangster as the fuse, spent 70 minutes describing the story before the gangster came. The four gangsters, especially the terrifying Miller, exist as a potential shadow almost all the time, and the real contradiction in the film lies in the mentality of the townspeople facing the threat of the gangsters. Kai is gone, but the arrival of the gangsters did not make him go. What really drove him away was the selfish and ruthless mentality of the town residents. The film follows the tradition of Western films and ends with a lone hero defeating a villain. It seems to be a comedy, but it is actually a tragedy. The grief of being killed by the gangsters seems to be bearable, but this selfishness and ruthlessness from the people around them give people a chill that penetrates the bone marrow, even the scorching midday sun lingers.
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