Set in the years following the Civil War, Horizons West stars
Robert Ryan as Dan Hammond, one of three Texans who decide to return home after the cessation of hostilities. While his brother Neal (
Rock Hudson) and his friend Tiny (
James Arness) decide to become ranchers, Dan opts for a more adventurous life out West. Through means both fair and foul (mostly foul), he builds up a veritable empire, defending his turf with legions of hired gunmen. Eventually, the honest Neal is forced to face down his brother Dan, whose megalomania has reached dictatorial dimensions.
Julie Adams, still billed as "Julia," plays a self-reliant widow who sets her cap for Dan, who in an earlier scene had gunned down the woman's husband (
Raymond Burr)--a characteristically ironic grace-note from director
Budd Boetticher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide