Marvin Hayden returns to find his ranch is about to be sold at auction and the Hayden Jorth feud still going strong. Carson wants the Hayden ranch and tries to kill Hayden. When he fails he kills Chick Jorth with a rock. As Hayden does not carry a gun and the two had argued earlier, Hayden is arrested for the murder. With Hayden in jail, his friends Chito, Ginger, and his Lawyer Gardner now go to work to find the murderer.
Acting
Tim Holt's unarmed hero gimmick adds actual tension.
Practical Effects
That rock murder—low-budget creativity at its finest.
Director
Lew Landers
Tim Holt
Marvin Hayden
Martha Hyer
Ellie Jorth
Richard Martin
Chito Rafferty
Steve Brodie
Chick Jorth
Jason Robards Sr.
Jim Gardner
Harry Woods
Trimble Carson
Tom Keene
Johnny Blue
Robert Clarke
Lee Jorth
Harry Harvey
Sheriff Bagley
Dick Elliott
Dick (uncredited)
Jim Corey
Deputy (uncredited)
Victor Adamson
Barfly (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Tim Holt made over 40 B-westerns for RKO between 1940-1952, becoming one of the studio's most reliable cowboy stars despite never quite breaking into A-pictures.
The unarmed hero trope here reflects post-war exhaustion with violence, even as the genre couldn't quit gunplay entirely—note how fists still fly constantly.
US
