Three Violent People (Full Frame)

VHS, 100 minutes, PARAMOUNT

Charlton Heston, Anne Baxter and Tom Tryon are "Three Violent People" in this taut, lean-as-leather western with an emphasis on character. Heston is straightlaced rancher Colt Saunders, an ex-Confederate cavalryman coping with the land-grabbing tax policies of greedy Reconstruction leaders. Baxter (Heston's costar in "The Ten Commandments") plays Saunder's bride Lorna, who's determined to hide her shady past from her intolerant husband. And Tom Tryon (author of "The Other") is Cinch Saunders, an amputee embittered by his brother's dominance. Colt, Lorna and Cinch are volatile ingredients destined to explode. When the carpetbaggers cagily play each of the trio against each other, little do they know they're playing with fire.