
Three Confederate soldiers escape from Union captivity, only to be captured by bandit Keeley -- then spared when he discovers they're fellow Southerners. Keeley forces them to help with his next planned heist: stealing gold from a wagon train led by Don Antonio Chaves. The men insinuate themselves with Chaves in preparation for the robbery, but when Will (Joel McCrea) falls in love with a widow (Arlene Dahl) traveling with Chaves, the three men must decide whether to continue the plan.
Three Confederate soldiers escape from Union captivity, only to be captured by bandit Keeley -- then spared when he discovers they're fellow Southerners. Keeley forces them to help with his next planned heist: stealing gold from a wagon train led by Don Antonio Chaves. The men insinuate themselves with Chaves in preparation for the robbery, but when Will (Joel McCrea) falls in love with a widow (Arlene Dahl) traveling with Chaves, the three men must decide whether to continue the plan.
Searching for work, cowboy Jubal Troop (Glenn Ford) arrives in a small town, where he badly injures his hand. Fortunately, a local rancher, Shep Horgan (Ernest Borgnine), is willing to employ Troop despite the injury. Horgan and Troop work together amicably, but Horgan's two-timing wife (Valerie French) threatens to create discord when she becomes interested in Troop, although he really loves another woman. A jealous cowhand (Rod Steiger) complicates matters by spreading lies.
Quirt Evans (John Wayne), a cowboy on the run, is injured when his horse stumbles near a Quaker family's land. The family takes him in as he regains his health, and he falls for their young daughter, Penelope (Gail Russell). As Quirt falls deeper in love and becomes accustomed to the family's peaceful ways, his violent past starts to catch up to him. Eventually he is forced to decide whether it is worth letting go of his turbulent former life for his future with Penelope.
Three Confederate soldiers escape from Union captivity, only to be captured by bandit Keeley -- then spared when he discovers they're fellow Southerners. Keeley forces them to help with his next planned heist: stealing gold from a wagon train led by Don Antonio Chaves. The men insinuate themselves with Chaves in preparation for the robbery, but when Will (Joel McCrea) falls in love with a widow (Arlene Dahl) traveling with Chaves, the three men must decide whether to continue the plan.
Luke Whispering Smith (Alan Ladd) is a mild-mannered policeman tasked with stopping a gang of train robbers, led by Barney Rebstock (Donald Crisp). Luke is faced with a conflict of interest when his good friend, Murray Sinclair (Robert Preston), loses his railroad job and, in an act of defiance, joins Rebstock's gang of outlaws. To make things even more complicated, Luke's friendship with Murray's ex-wife, Marian (Brenda Marshall), is becoming romantic.
Wandering gunfighter Joe arrives in the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among sheriff John Baxter and the three Rojo brothers. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, Joe is hired by Esteban to join the gang, but he plays one side against the other.
The luck of Pat Brennan (Randolph Scott) is about to go from bad to worse; after gambling his horse away, he gets a ride from Willard (John Hubbard) and Doretta Mims (Maureen O'Sullivan). Soon, their stagecoach is hijacked by a trio of merciless bandits, led by the especially heartless Frank Usher (Richard Boone). As Usher holds the coach passengers hostage, Brennan falls in love with Doretta and develops a risky plan to free himself and the Mimses, leading to a bloody final standoff.
The Civil War has ended, the Union Army has pulled out, and now the Texas Rangers are needed once again to protect their state from harm. The newly reformed Rangers decide to take a chance by hiring a notorious outlaw Johnny Carver (George Montgomery). They offer the desperado amnesty for his previous crimes if he'll put his famous trigger finger to work for Texas. Carver agrees, but his new job won't be easy, as his old rival, the Sundance Kid (Ian MacDonald), is out for vengeance.
Old West outlaw Bill Doolin (Randolph Scott) marries a deacon's wife, but his gang will not leave him alone.