Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Zachary Scott is Ross Haney, an outlaw’s son who has plans to control the town of Soledad by controlling the water rights.

In doing so, he steps right in the middle of a feud between ranchers “Chalk” Reynolds and Walt Payne.

And a hired gun named Doran is ready to take over should he succeed in eliminating both of them.

If Haney doesn’t take care of that task … well, Doran has other plans for removing his prime obstacles.

Carole Mathews is Sherry Vernon, who’s supposed to be marrying Doran, until Haney shows up, intending to make her his own.

Turns out Haney has more noble intentions than most of the other men in Soledad.

Zachary Scott as Ross Haney, the man secretly gaining control of the water rights around Soledad in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Rick Vallin as Robert Verrnin and Dick Foran as Doran, the last two adversaries standing in Ross Haney’s way in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Review:

But quite frankly, this is a muddled mess with few redeeming qualities.

For instance, take the role of Scotty, the local hotel keeper. He owns what water rights Haney doesn’t, which could make him a rich man.

Instead, he agrees to turn those rights over to Haney for one dollar, just for the fun of watching the fireworks Haney’s presence brings to Soledad.

Based on a Louis L’Amour story. Hopefully, it was a better read than the movie is a watch.

Carole Mathews as Sherry Vernon, the woman Doran plans to marry and Ross Haney sets his sights on in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Charles Fredericks as Walt Payne, one of the cattleman likely to be shocked when they learn of Ross Haney’s water rights in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Directed by:
Frank McDonald

Cast:
Zachary Scott … Ross Haney
Carole Mathews … Sherry Vernon
Dick Foran … Doran
Barton MacLane … “Chalk” Reynolds
Charles Fredericks … Walt Payne
Rick Vallin … Robert Vernon
Lola Albright … May
Gordon Jones … Jack Voyle
Raymond Hatton … Scotty
Lee Van Cleef … Frank Emmett
Steve Darrell … Tom Hull
James Alexander … Burt
Stanley Andrews … Marshal Garvey

Runtime: 71 min.

Barton MacLane as ‘Chalk’ Reynolds with his hired guns, ready for a showdown in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Lee Van Cleef as Frank Emmett, a fast gun standing in the way of Ross Haney’s plans in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Memorable lines:

Tom Hull, Ross Haney’s saddlemate: “Now that Vin’s dead, you’ll own all that land around Thousand Springs.”
Ross Haney: “Land doesn’t do you much good if you’re six feet under it.”

Tom to Ross Haney: “It ain’t hard for evil to kill a town. Your dad and I proved that.”

Scotty, hotel clerk in Soledad: “I’ve had three friends my whole life — two guns and a horse.”

Dolan: “What do you know about a man named Ross Haney?”
Frank Emmett: “Nothing. Heard the name someplace; that’s all.”
Dolan: “He’s going around looking for you. Says you killed a friend of his.”
Frank: “I don’t know. I’ve killed lots of people’s friends.”

Raymond Hatton as Westbrook ‘Scotty’ Scott, a hotel man who sells Haney water rights for $1 so he can watch sparks fly in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Lola Albright as May, the ‘prettiest little waitress you’ve ever seen,’ interacting with Ross Haney in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Steve Darrell as Tom Hull, the saddlemate who decides not to follow Ross Haney to Soledad in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Gordon Jones as Jack Voyle, a fast gun pulling a trigger for Walt Payne’s outfit in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

James Alexander as Rollie Burt, a wounded gunman Haney helps escape sure death in Soledad in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)

Zachary Scott as Ross Haney, about to show Sherry Vernon how she can pay a debt in Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955)