A stage arrives in the ghost town of Mesa, carrying Julie Westcott (Lola Albright), a woman on her way to meet her fiance, and a host of other passengers. Soon after, John Trey (Charles Quinlivan) also rides into town, bound for San Francisco.
But while Mesa might be a ghost town, it isn’t empty, as the visitors soon learn. They come face-to-face with Papa Clellan (James Griffith) and the other six members of his gang.
Clellan is a half-mad outlaw intent on stealing a wagon train of army gold. And it just happens Mesa is located near a pass that would make a perfect spot for an ambush.
As for the other visitors to Mesa, including Julie and Trey? They might never leave alive, because the gang isn’t interested in leaving witnesses behind. Realizing that, Trey offers Clellan a deal. He’ll lead the gang through a little known mountain pass so they can escape with their gold, if they’ll let Julie and the other passengers live.
Review:
Not great, but better than you’d expect from a B-Western quickie that clocks in at less than 70 minutes.
Julie’s a woman running from a tawdry past, hoping for salvation, only to find herself in this new predicament. She dreams of a man who would kiss her for something other than what he expected to follow.
John Trey has a past, too. Once a trick shot in a circus, he killed a friend who stepped in front of one of his bullets. He’s shunned guns, but might be forced to reconsider that stance thanks to the Clellan gang.
As for Papa Clellan … well, you’re not sure quite what he’ll do. When one son breaks a leg in a fight with Trey, he puts him out of his misery, just like you’d do to a horse.
This marked one of only three film roles for Quinlivan. It marked Albright’s last Western until a she played one of the female leads in 1967’s “The Way West,” starring Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum.
Directed by:
Edward Dein
Cast:
Charles Quinlivan … John Trey
Lola Albright … Julie Westcott
James Griffith … Papa Clellan
Jay Alder … Ben Avery
Jack Carr … Sam Denton
Dan Sheridan … Simmons
Burt Nelson … Bear
John Frederick … Brown
Charles Keane … Marsh
Rush Williams … Duncan
Gerald Frank … Crandall
Don Sullivan … Louis Middleton
Reed Howes … Stage driver
Mauritz Hugo … Lt. Franklin
Runtime: 69 min.
Memorable lines:
Julie: “We were just fixing to leave, so if you put those guns away, we’ll go.”
Papa Clellan: “Ah, that nice round body of yours ain’t going no place but where I tell it.”
Papa Clellan: “I ain’t ‘fraid of dyin’, but the thought of dyin’ rich makes me sick to my stomach.”
Julie, about her tawdry past: “I was on my way to get married. I used every trick I knew to get him. He’s a lucky man. Now I’ll never make it. I’m kind of happy. You know why?”
John Trey: “A smart man never marries the past. It’s the future he’s interested in.”
Julie: “I’d like to meet up with the man who doesn’t like fresh flowers.”
Papa: “For the life of me, I can’t figure out why some folks seem to think if you raise your right hand and give your word, it means you’re tellin’ the truth. Besides, I’m left-handed.”
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