Stephen McNally plays Steve Davis, a boxer and former Civil War spy hired by the railroad to go undercover to break up a gang that’s been robbing the mail.
If the gang isn’t stopped, the Wyoming Railroad will likely lose its mail franchise.
Davis gets himself tossed in jail, manages to infiltrate the gang by learning telegraphy, falls for a saloon singer (Alexis Smith as Mary Williams) and soon discovers more people are involved in this gang than he ever would have suspected.
And that includes Mary.
She’s torn over what to do when she learns Davis’s true identity.
Gang leader Cavanaugh (Howard Da Silva) isn’t; he wants Steve dead, the sooner the better.
But with the help of a sidekick named Indian Joe, Steve might still manage to foil the gang’s biggest job yet, a $200,000 train holdup.
Steve McNally as Steve Davis, sent undercover to find out who’s behind mail holdups in Wyoming Mail (1950)
Alexis Smith as Mary Williams, leader of a dance troupe with a secret to keep in Wyoming Mail (1950)
Review:
Nice looking film, especially the final showdown in the gang’s mountainside network of caves, accessible only by rope ladders.
Unfortunately, McNally never made for much of a leading man in Westerns, and the love chats between he and Alexis Smith come off as oh-so contrived.
James Arness of Gunsmoke fame is among the baddies in one of his early film roles. This marked the first American film for Armando Silvestre, who plays Indian Joe and went on to enjoy a long career in film and TV.
Howard Da Silva as Jeff Cavanaugh, one of the leaders of the bandit gang in Wyoming Mail (1950)
Gene Evans as Shep, Richard Jaeckel as Nate and James Arness as Russell, members of the outlaw gang in Wyoming Mail (1950)
Directed by:
Reginal LeBorg
Cast:
Stephen McNally … Steve Davis
Alexis Smith … Mary Williams
Howard Da Silva … Jeff Cavanaugh
Ed Begley … Hayes
Dan Riss … George Armstrong
Roy Roberts … Charles de Haven
Armando Silvestre … Indian Joe
Whit Bissell … Sam Wallace
James Arness … Russell
Richard Jaeckel … Nate
Frankie Darro … Rufe
Felipe Turich … Pete
Richard Eagan … Beale
Gene Evans … Shep
Frank Fenton … Gilson
Emerson Treacy … Ben
Runtime: 87 min.
Dan Riss as George Armstrong and Frank Fenton as U.S. Marshal Gilson, trying to bring bandits to justice in Wyoming Mail (1950)
Armando Silvestre as Indian Joe, the man helping Steve Davis in his undercover work in Wyoming Mail (1950)
Memorable lines:
Mary: “Why don’t you have enough sense to get out of a town like Crystal City?”
Steve: “What’s wrong with Crystal City?”
Mary: “The law lives here. Railroad law. There are about two detectives to every saloon, and there are a lot of saloons.”
Mary: “You can’t always keep running, dodging around corners, missing the law by an inch. Someday you gotta lose. I don’t want you to lose.”
Steve: “Have you ever said that to yourself?”
Mary: “Yes, many times.”
Mary to Steve, upon learning that he’s an undercover agent: “You little man. You cheap little man, and I let you kiss me. Railroad law. And all the time I was holding you in my arms …”
Steve McNally as Steve Davis, pretending to be a former outlaw with loot hidden somewhere in Wyoming Mail (1950)
Roy Roberts as Charles de Haven and Dan Riss as George Armstrong arguing for continuing the railroad mail in Wyoming Mail (1950)
Ed Begley as Hayes, a crooked prison warden offering Davis a deal in Wyoming Mail (1950)
Alexis Smith as Mary Williams and Steve McNally as Steve Davis in Wyoming Mail (1950)
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