AllMovie

Run for Cover starts out well and promises to be an unusual Western that explores character of greater depth than are found in the run-of-the-mill examples of the genre. Unfortunately, its early promise isn't sustained, and in the end, Cover ends up being a disappointment. Directed by Nicholas Ray, Cover shares with many other of Ray's films an exploration of "the generation gap" and the ways in which older men and younger men connect and disconnect. Unlike most of the director's other films, however, Cover is more concerned with, and more sympathetic to, the older man. This should have been the set up for a melancholy, perhaps even tragic, story, but it instead devolves into a more routine "good vs. evil" picture with a totally unconvincing 11th hour transformation. Ray's direction is solid and in some instances outstanding, but there's also a feeling that he wasn't totally caught up in the material; perhaps he wished it to proceed in a different direction and was frustrated in his efforts. John Derek is also no James Dean as the younger man, and his okay-but-nothing-more performance is a detriment. James Cagney, on the other hand, is in beautiful form, running with every chance the screenplay provides him.