William Lundigan plays Tom Folliard, a young man fresh out of jail, a young man whose brother is the outlaw known as Trigger Bill (Lloyd Nolan). Despite that, the manager of the stage line gives Tom a second chance, though it involves running the station at the end of the line, in the heart of Apache country.
Determined to avoid the same path his brother has traveled, Tom jumps at the chance and has the stage line operating smoothly when two problems surface. Trigger Bill shows up for a visit, and shows an immediate interest in a chest of gold being stored there. And the Apache wind up on the warpath.
Before he knows it, young Tom faces challenges from within and without, and there’s a fresh stage load of passengers to protect. Those passengers include a pretty young widow named Constance Selden, whose husband committed suicide during the Civil War.
She takes an immediate liking to Tom, much to the dismay of Rosalia Martinez (Donna Reed) who helps out at the station and has silently admired the handsome young man for years.
The biggest surprise of all comes when the whites inside the station find out why the Indians are on the warpath. Turns out a white man stole a ceremonial peace pipe and killed a few braves in the process. Guess whose brother showed up at the station with a peace pipe?
Review:
Tightly directed little film that’s surprisingly effective, with William Lundigan likeable in the role of station manager, even if he didn’t get the film’s top billing. That went to Lloyd Nolan, who plays the ever-plotting Trigger Bill.
The film features Donna Reed in one of her earliest roles. She’s saddled with a Mexican accent, but plays a key role in one of the film’s best scenes — when the people inside the besieged station have to vote whether to turn Trigger Bill over to the Apache.
The film was remade just a few years later as “Apache War Smoke” with Gilbert Roland in the outlaw role.
Directed by:
Richard Thorpe
Cast:
Lloyd Nolan … Trigger Bill Folliard
Donna Reed … Rosalia Martinez
William Lundigan … Tom Folliard
Anne Ayars … Constance Selden
Connie Gilchrist … Senora Martinez
Chill Wills … Pike Skelton
Miles Mander … James V. Thorne
Gloria Holden … Mrs. Thorne
Ray Teal … Ed Cotton
Grant Withers … Les Lestrade
Fuzzy Knight … Juke
Trevor Bardette .. Amber
Tito Renaldo … Cochee
Frank Thomas … Maj. Lowden
Runtime: 66 min.
Memorable lines:
Stage passenger: “You got a reputation, judge, of being pretty stern.”
Judge: “I follow one rule: When in doubt, hang ’em.”
Older woman: “They didn’t tell me the stage went through Apache country. I want a transfer at once. I’m not going another mile on Indian territory.”
Stage employee Walters: “Well, then you better look for a place to squat, ma’am. It’s Apache country no matter which way you travel.”
Trigger Bill to Constance: “We both of us know if I had four or five minutes to spare from business I could have you crawling around my boots.”
That, of course, earns Trigger Bill a smack in the face.
Trigger Bill to Constance: “I’d hate to have to put a bullet through that elegant head of yours.”
Tom Folliard: “Easy, Scout, you’ve been hit pretty bad.”
Scout, with an arrow sticking out of his upper leg: “Don’t you think I know it. That ain’t warm turtle soup filling my boots. Sabbath-breaking varmints. I’ll teach them to go around punching holes in people’s clothes.”
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