"Great Day in the Morning" had one main point: While the Indians are fighting for the possession of the land, the white men are taking part in the events leading up to the Civil War for the same land...

Robert Stack acts with considerable force, humor and salty flavor since his arrival to Denver at the outbreak of the Civil War... In a Poker game, he wins a 'big hand' from a 'little lady.' Barbara Rush deals out a surprising twist of fate impossible to beat!

The glamorous blonde beauty Virginia Mayo plays, with just, the right romantic woman and adventurous spirit... And Ruth Roman proves to be a genuine strong-willed character... Unfortunately she is Raymond Burr's victim...

All the characters help disguise the weaknesses and lack of the originality of the gold rush fever... But Jacques Tourneur's camera-work on the great outdoors deserves top mention... His shots are so nice to watch...

Raymond Burr, who stakes his money and his saloon on the turn of the cards, appears fascinated in his heavy role...

Great Day in the Morning was the last western directed by Jacques Tourneur. It's based on a novel by Robert Hardy Andrews and features Robert Stack and Virginia Mayo in key roles.

The action of the film takes place right before the beginning of the American Civil War. Directly from the start of the film we're introduced to the main character of Owen Pentecost (Robert Stack) who is trying to defend himself when attacked by the Indians. Things start to get pretty bad, but group of people appears headed by Sarg. Zeff Masterson (Leo Gordon) and saves his life. But when Masterson discovers that the man he's just saved is a Confederate, he resents himself for doing so and only is stopped from finishing Owen by his colleague Stephen Kirby (Alex Nicol). Soon they arrive to Denver, Colorado, where everything indicates that the war is ready to break out any moment. But Owen Pentecost more concerned about himself and about the real purpose of his coming to Denver, which is a load of gold that was dig by the confederate miners and is ready to be transported to the south to help the Confederate cause. The delay might ruin everything, and this is what Owen counts on, planning to take advantage of the situation for his own benefit. This is where Boston (Ruth Roman) enters the scene. She is beautiful woman who falls in love with him and having her own opinion about what Owen's future should be makes him a town's saloon owner and herself his associate. Meanwhile the time passes by and the Civil War breaks out with Confederates attacking Fort Sumter and urgent transportation of gold to the south becomes a matter of vital importance. That is where Stephen Kirby reveals his true identity as a Captain of a Union Army and gathers a group of volunteers intending to stop moving out the gold.

Great Day in the Morning can be hardly called a classic, but nonetheless is quite a good western worth to take a look at. 7/10

It's 1861 in the Colorado Territory. The new whites face attacks from the Indians. There is tension between southerners and northerners as war approaches. Newcomer Owen Pentecost (Robert Stack), from North Carolina, encounters Ann Merry Alaine (Virginia Mayo). He wins at poker against Jumbo Means (Raymond Burr). Saloon madam Boston Grant (Ruth Roman) is also taken with Pentecost.

The movie is rooting for the south. That happens in many American movies during this time. The southerners are heroic. The northerners are either evil or drunk. The Union is slow moving. Most depressing is that Indians are nameless barbarians. The movie starts with that, kills off a few of them, and then promptly forgets all about them. If all that is fine, this is your movie. This is a perfectly good western although I don't like the general message.