classicsoncall I'll take a stab at identifying the trio of characters in the title; I think it boils down to the three 'C's' - Colt (Charlton Heston), Cinch (Tom Tryon) and Cable (Forrest Tucker). Colt Saunders without question after watching him upend Lorna Hunter (Anne Baxter) with only undergarments showing; Cinch because as Colt's put upon younger brother, he carried a grudge that would have led to betrayal if he hadn't had the change of heart at the finale. I'm including Cable because he was ready to use his six-gun at the drop of a hat to take down Captain Saunders, and was the buzzard identified by Gran Vaquero Ortega (Gilbert Roland) in my summary line above.Well anyway, that's my take on things. I liked the way Gil Roland's character was written in the story. Innocencio Antonio Ortega was a romantic and a poet, with uncanny insight into the human condition. His welcome address to the new Mrs. Saunders was an inspiration to his five sons, right after Rafael got tongue tied and couldn't find the words to continue. I think it was right after this picture that Robert Blake was no longer credited as 'Bobby'; the nickname seemed more appropriate when he was Red Ryder's sidekick in the Forties.Now it made sense when Cinch backed down from challenging his brother, but what was going on when Commissioner Harrison's (Bruce Bennett) deputy Massey (John Harmon) appeared to go for a draw down on Colt earlier in the story? He had to know he would have been a goner, even if the rest of Harrison's deputies opened fire. Lorna's interference brought tensions back under control, but I couldn't figure out what the idea was here. For certain he was mortified for revealing Lorna's past, so maybe it was his way of committing suicide without having it pan out.With long time relationships under stress and a marriage on the rocks, anyone having viewed a few hundred of these era Westerns would have had a good idea that things would work out in the end. Even though Cinch cashed out as the redeemed younger brother, there was no way Colt and Laura Saunders were going to ride off into the sunset in different directions. As for those buzzards, well they wound up getting the guy with the red hair.

Marlburian But for the cast this would be a very ordinary, unsatisfying Western. I found it hard to believe that Colt Saunders (whose uniform seemed to have survived unscathed the rigours of war and defeat)would decide to marry Lorna after just a few words of conversation; a slightly longer courtship would have been more convincing. And Lorna is not the reformed character that she later appears to be; she was quite prepared to keep Saunders' money for herself until she realised what a catch he would make.The ending leaves several loose ends. Why did Harrison have to raid Saunders' ranch when he could have got it quasi-legally? Did Colt and Lorna go on to have a happy marriage? And what happened to the threat of punitive taxation on the Southerners; this wasn't a scam dreamt up by Harrison, but one backed by the government.It's the cast that lifts the film, and not just the stars. Gilbert Roland has great screen presence and we don't see enough of Forrest Tucker to justify his fifth billing.John Harmon as Massey deserves a mention for the scene in which Harrison forces him to unmask Lorna as a former good-time girl. He's obviously not sure who terrifies him more: Saunders or Harrison and Cable.

kennedya-1 How can you not like a film that has characters named Colt Saunders, Beauregard 'Cinch' Saunders, Ruby LaSalle and the ageless Gilbert Roland as someone rejoicing in the misleading nomenclature of Innocencio Ortega.The three violent people of the title is a gross numerical understatement - all the male cast in his part of the west seem to be capable of giving and receiving their fair share of violence -Forest Tucker and Richard Jaekel are particularly outstanding in this line of work and they get great back up from Bruce Bennett and Barton MacLane. Charlton Heston as usual mistakes tightening his jaw as equating to exuding dramatic power while Tom Tryon demonstrates the technique that got him cast as a emotionless extra terrestrial on at least one occasion. The show, as was so often the case, is stolen by Gilbert Roland. Enjoyable nonsense from the golden decade of the Horse Opera.

smithy-8 Charlton Heston made two good westerns: "The Big Country" and "Three Violent People". "Three Violent People" will show you a rousing good time. It is about a former-Confederate soldier (Charlton Heston) married to a southern belle who is hiding her former job as a saloon girl (Anne Baxter). When the husband finds out, he loses interest in his wife. Then the soldier's brother (Tom Tyron) takes over.This is Anne Baxter's best western. I think it is her only western. Tom Tryon made two more good movies: "The Cardinal" and "In Harm's Way"; then he retired in 1971 and became a successful novelist. You will notice Hollywood's best supporting actors in this movie.