You can't beat a good bit of Hickory. The opening to Pale Rider is just excellent, at first all is calm and serene, but then the peace is shattered by the thundering of hooves. A group of men employed by Coy LaHood, tear thru a small mining community, shooting guns and trampling over all in their way. During this callous act of bullying, one of the men shoots and kills young Megan's dog. When Megan buries her…

This is a good'un. <em>'Pale Rider'</em> features an enjoyable story featuring the gold rush, while the characters are all solid - Clint Eastwood gives a strong performance in the lead role, though I would've liked to have seen more of John Russell and his character. I don't think it's perfect or anything, but I got entertainment from it and that's enough for me - I've not got much more to note.

If you’re_italic text_ a regular watcher of Westerns, then you’ll be familiar enough with the format of the film. A bunch of prospectors are being bullied by a local kingpin determined to muscle-in on their land and intimidate, or kill, them out of their claims. A bit like “Sir Galahad”, a travelling preacher (Clint Eastwood) arrives and is soon trying to galvanise their efforts to thwart the ambitions of the…