A carbon copy of his Phenix City Story (1955), this Phil Karlson wingding tells about an ex-soldier who returns to his Southern roots and decides to clean up the organized vice that has settled in during his absence. This is a somewhat regrettable decision, because the tacky roadside gambling-hustling joints look at least halfway believable and because Karlson's Old Hollywood depiction of sin is charmingly prudish. By contrast, the simpering advertisements for Happy Family Life are unbearable. It's good to see Joe Don Baker move up to a leading role, and it's good to see Elizabeth Hartman even in a nothing role, but both are wasted in an infantile plot constructed of attack, counterattack, countercounterattack, and so on, and so on. (1972) — Duncan Shepherd
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