Three men are stranded in a tiny Mexican town when the ship they are on that is bound for California (during the Gold Rush) breaks down and they must wait for it to be repaired (which will take weeks). While in a cantina, these men (Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell) are approached by a frantic Susan Hayward who is trying to recruit men to follow her into Apache territory to rescue her husband who is trapped following a mining accident. Only these three men and a rather disreputable Mexican agree to go with her after promises of $2000 each for their services.

Along the way, it is slowly (and not unexpectedly) revealed that several of these men have larcenous intent and may be untrustworthy. This entire portion of the film seemed very ordinary and took very few risks--making it seem a lot like many other films of the genre (such as Cooper's THEY CAME TO CORDURA). Additionally, it unfolded rather slowly--so slowly that some may decide to just stop watching. This is sad because the last portion of the film works very well. Here, Gary Cooper and Richard Widmark are given good opportunity to finally flesh out their characters.

Overall, this is a slightly better than average Western. A good film for lovers of the genre, but rather skip-able to anyone else. However, the acting is good all around and the film ended well, so it's well worth a look.

By the way, one review says "where's the DVD?"--It was released some time back. Currently, it's bundled with two other Westerns (one, THE GUNFIGHTER, is amazing and worth the cost alone). Additionally, when I bought it, it came with these two other films AND several Mike Shayne detective films--all for about $12!! It's an amazing offer.

Lovely Susan Hayward comes to town looking for a few good men. They're in short supply in that Mexican town so she takes what she can get. Her husband, Hugh Marlowe is trapped in their mine with a broken leg and surrounded by Apaches. She hires Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark, Cameron Mitchell, and Victor Manuel Mendoza to rescue him.

Of course it's the gold that's attracting these guys, but having Hayward along on the trail is certainly diverting enough. They arrive at the mine with husband and Apaches still there.

There's little suspense here, mainly because the men fill out the casting stereotypes we've come to expect from them. I can't say any more on that subject lest I spoil the viewing if you're at all interested.

I can't wrap myself around the concept that Marlowe was even alive after a few days journey to town and back. It's what makes the rest of the film somewhat ridiculous in my eyes.

Still the stars perform admirably and they are the reason for watching Garden of Evil.

Hooker (Gary Cooper),Fiske (Richard Widmark) and Luke Daly (Cameron Mitchell) are stranded in the dusty town of Puerto Miguel, Mexico when their ship breaks down. It will take weeks to fix. Leah Fuller (Susan Hayward) comes to town in need of men to rescue her husband John Fuller (Hugh Marlowe) who is trapped in their mine. Despite the threat of Apache attacks, the three Americans are lured by the promise of $2000 each and they are joined by Vicente Madariaga (Victor Manuel Mendoza).

This could be remade into a great modern dark gritty thriller. The adventure is there. The romantic entanglement could be remade into something creepier and more sinister. The combination of Widmark and Cooper is great. I don't really like some of the old fashion sensibilities. This could have been amazingly dark if the characters are more stripped down to their greedy selfish cores.