While surveying a telegraph line in 1861, Western Union engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is severely injured in an accident. He is discovered by Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott), an outlaw on the run from a posse. Forced to travel on foot after his horse was hurt, Shaw at first considers stealing Creighton's horse, but changes his mind and takes the man with him, saving his life.
Sometime later, following his recovery, Creighton returns to Omaha, Nebraska and plans the construction of a telegraph line from Omaha to Salt Lake City, Utah. Facing considerable opposition to the line from Confederate soldiers, Indians, and outlaws, Creighton elicits the help of his sister Sue (Virginia Gilmore), foreman Pat Grogan (Minor Watson), and assistant Homer Kettle (Chill Wills).
Looking to put his outlaw past behind him, Shaw arrives at Creighton's Western Union office looking for honest work and is hired as a scout by Grogan who is unaware of his past. Creighton recognizes him among the men and allows him to stay despite his suspicions. Creighton also hires tenderfoot Richard Blake (Robert Young), a Harvard-educated engineer as a favor to Blake's father. Shaw and Blake are both attracted to Sue and vie for her attention, but their romantic rivalry is cut short when construction of the telegraph line starts on July 4, 1861.
After work commences on the line, one of the men is killed apparently by a mysterious band of cattle-rustling Indians. Unconvinced that Indians are to blame, Shaw rides out to investigate and follows the rustlers' trail to the camp of Jack Slade, a former friend and cohort, whose gang committed the killing disguised as Indians—the gang Shaw left following his last bank robbery. Slade reveals that they are working for the Confederacy to disrupt Western Union because they believe the telegraph service will help the Union. Shaw rides away and returns to the line. Not wanting to turn in his former friends, Shaw tells Creighton that a large band of Dakota Indians stole the cattle, and recommends that they simply replace the herd and not risk a fight with the Indians.
Sometime later, a confrontation takes place between men working on the forward line and a band of drunken Indians. When one of the Indians tries to steal some equipment, a nervous Blake shoots him, ignoring Shaw's order to remain calm. After word arrives that the main camp is under attack by other Indians, the Western Union men rush back to help with the defense. At the main camp, Slade's men, who are again disguised as Indians, steal the Western Union horses. The company discover the ruse when one of the wounded Indians turns out to be a white man. Forced to buy back their stolen horses from Slade, Creighton becomes suspicious of Shaw's involvement, especially when he admits to knowing the gang.
Soon the U.S. Army arrives and announces the Indians have now refused to allow the telegraph lines to go through their territory in response to Blake's shooting of the drunken Indian. Creighton, Shaw, and Blake ride out to convince Chief Spotted Horse to allow them to build the line through Indian territory, even though the man Blake wounded was Spotted Horse's son. Creighton is finally able to persuade the Indians to allow them passage, and work continues until the company approaches Salt Lake City.
Sometime later, Shaw receives word that Jack Slade wants to meet with him. On the way to see Slade, Shaw is captured and bound by Slade's men. Slade says his group is going to burn down the Western Union camp and they don't want Shaw to interfere. After Slade and his men ride off, Shaw escapes from his ropes but arrives back too late to prevent the fire. He helps rescue some of the Western Union men from the flames and burns his hands in the process.
After the fire, Creighton confronts Shaw for an explanation, but Shaw does not reveal what he knows and is fired by Creighton. As Shaw leaves the camp, he tells Blake that Slade is actually Shaw's brother and that he, Shaw, will find Slade's gang and stop them from interfering with the telegraph project. Shaw rides off and finds Slade and his men in a nearby town. At the barber shop, Shaw confronts his brother, whose gun is concealed under the barber's sheet. Slade shoots Shaw through the sheet. Shaw fights back in spite of his wound, killing some of the gang members, and then dies. Blake arrives and continues the fight with Slade who dies from his wounds. Soon after, the Western Union line is completed and the workers celebrate. When Sue laments the absence of Shaw, Creighton tells her that Shaw can hear them.
人不能恐惧一切，尤其是为了自由。骗了所有人，但是至少没有欺骗自己。
这个故事告诉我们……工作太认真就会有危险！
虽说是同性题材，但讲的还是八十年代末期波兰社会的压抑和黑暗；一些剧情稍显刻意，有些转折处理的也有些幼稚，但整体还不错，算是从一个特别的角度反映了波兰那个时期的社会群像和环境
针对性少数群体的围剿行动，时至今日也以另类的形式存在着，只是不再叫“风信子”；叙事杂乱隐晦，看男主查案还不如看他跟男二的船戏有意思。
视听语言和cp感都很赞，几处玻璃折射的运用尤其不错；但案件、背景、男主的觉醒与男主男二的爱情，短短不到两个小时，根本不够展开，再加上未婚妻的设定，显得男主爱上男二挺突兀的。结尾说当年的很多档案到现在都还没能解密，想到网上经常吐槽都xxxx年了，日光之下总无新事。
各方面来说都是一部规规矩矩的电影，相比剧情和人物塑造，镜头语言算是比较突出的
简单、粗暴，没那么多花花肠子，美式传统野蛮人。
①4.5星，故事讲的很好，悬疑色彩厚重感十足，仿佛有种哥谭市的感觉。
虽然探案的部分写得一般，但类型片框架下的同性故事还是蛮少见的。两男主都很得劲，男主有一种闷骚的性感，而艾瑞克每次出现都像是黑暗中一闪而逝的流星。
两个互相欺骗的人，却付出真心，有点可怜，审讯那段虐了。其实爸爸也无能为力，对上司对制度无力抗争，对儿子所谓的保护也成了伤害。
少数人的爱恋 不管有没有经历非正常的招募 就算真情所至 也不被人接受 不管是二十世纪八十年代还是现在
结局没压住，有些许可惜。同志们，谁说矮攻不可以？矮攻站起来了！
故事还可以再复杂一点 增强一下一步步推理的线索节奏感 会更好
难得有一部舍不得快进的电影 喜欢粗糙的工业镜像 只是还可以拍得更好 不知道差点啥 cp的情感部分应该惊艳 这显得有点平淡 俩人的感情应该是炙烈的 噼里啪啦的 攻差点意思 但是破案部分又拍的不错 有点可惜
枪战很爽
虽然是小场景，小制作，但也不能吝惜5颗星，
挺平淡，也挺真实的
3.5 题材还是挺得我心的 配乐很优秀 每一首都想下来找了听 但为什么我看过的波兰同影好多都有straight to gay的情节啊 看得我好不自在（女主长得好像kontrola女主啊 不知道是不是一个人）被男主撩到了 被砸了头然后自己用酒敷这个细节戳到我xp了 男二也好会啊 救命 床戏我可以撸一百遍
是不是越冷的地方对于情感就越压抑 但越压抑爆发时也就越热烈 好可惜最后的美好也只是梦幻泡影一场//色调的冷感和胶片的颗粒感 到底还有多少隐秘未能得到妥善归终呢
比较套路的剧情，但放在历史上，又有其不可被抹灭的一笔，影片至少让对这段历史不了解的观众，多了些认识。“有罪的都是gay”，这句话看完全片后，依旧回响...所幸现在的环境，逐渐好转。片尾曲很好听，男二好出彩，但可能个人原因，对影片内容，共情度一般。
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