Zachary Scott is quite menacing in this chilly tale of half a dozen escaped convicts who find themselves caught up in the wintery weather on the look out for shelter - and for $40,000! When they arrive at a remote village they discover that the men are all away and that under the imperious guidance of "Granny" (Ethel Barrymorre) it's the wives and children who are left. Not that they'd expect much danger in the middle of winter with the snow knee high everywhere around, but they have weapons and know how to use them. The dissolute looking men wander into town and beg for food and shelter, which grudgingly the women give them. "Greer" (Scott) is aware of the rumoured fortune, though, and pretty soon he and the gang are looking to take the cash - and anything else they can get. The one exception amongst this motley crew might be "Cranfield" (Glenn Ford) convicted but adamant he was framed, and by a man from this small community too! A fire seriously dents their stores and the courageous intervention of the men redraws their boundaries and that ends up making things more perilous and just a little more romantic for "Cranfield" too. The alpine atmosphere helps sustain the tension quite well as does the nasty Scott and though it does descend a little into a sentimental sludge at times thanks to an unremarkable effort from the usually stronger Gene Tierney, there's still enough of the threatening criminal mentality to keep it edgy until the rather rushed but fitting denouement. One of Ford's more robust efforts too.
