Backlash

Backlash (1956) is a Hollywood western you can watch online on iFILM, directed by John Sturges and starring Richard Widmark as Jim Slater — a man hunting for a father he never knew.

The father died in an Apache ambush in Gila Valley along with four others. Five bodies were found. The sixth man vanished and took the gold with him. Jim follows those tracks, and almost everyone he meets along the way has a reason to shoot him first. Donna Reed plays Karyl Orton, a woman with her own reasons to find the missing survivor.

Sturges made westerns that moved — no speeches, no sentiment, just consequence. Backlash is a tighter picture than its B-movie origins suggest: the mystery underneath the action holds up, and Widmark plays quietly here, which suits him better than when he is allowed to chew the scenery. Stream Backlash (1956) online on iFILM.