Rating of
3/4
Indyfreak - wrote on 07/21/19
A fascinating and gripping Civil War film from the perspective of a Confederate saboteur and his soldiers plotting to ransack a New York town near the Canadian border. It's a bittersweet character study of their leader played by Van Heflin who's motivated by hatred of the enemy yet takes pause when reminded of the humanity of the townsfolk, especially a pretty widow played by Anne Bancroft. However, the film pulls no punches nor does it cheat with a schmaltzy ending. The ending is a reminder of how wartime deception and pillaging affects civilians.
