It makes me curious whether Fritz Lang was given these plot points by studio executives or if he selected them himself. Regardless, the actors portraying the central characters don’t quite succeed in elevating this pioneering and intriguing story above a fairly standard level of filmmaking—even though it's about perseverance and negotiation. The film begins with "Shaw" (Randolph Scott) finding an injured "Creighton" …

With the start of the Civil War in 1861, a man with a past as an outlaw (Randolph Scott) finds himself part of a crew tasked with stringing telegraph lines across what would become Nebraska and Wyoming. Dean Jagger portrays the person in charge of the undertaking, while Robert Young is present as someone new to the area from elsewhere. Virginia Gilmore takes on the role of a woman who could be romantically involved w…