In this unusual crime thriller, the countryside becomes the homeplace for evil, and the cityscape is a relatively peaceful place. "Mary Ann" is the odd name for Gene Hackman's character, a scandalous cattleman who rips off meat-packing plants while pimping girls and running drugs. The quasi-gangster heads of the meat-packing plants arrange for Nick Devlin (Lee Marvin), a real gangster, to teach this creep a lesson. Thrilling momenta at a county fair and in wheatfields demonstrate that car chases aren't the only way to build suspense in action scenes.