Gunfighter's Moon

A notorious gunfighter returns to his ex-wife, who only wants him to save her sheriff husband from being killed by gunmen out to free his condemned prisoner. Henrickson plays Frank Morgan, a notorious and feared gunfighter that has lived his life on the run. His face and eyes reveal a man that has been very much hardened by that life. We quickly learn, however, that there is still passion inside. Upon receiving a telegram from Linda, an old lover (played by Kay Lenz), requesting his presence, he abandons his woman, mounts his horse and rides to Linda without giving it a second thought. Upon arrival, he learns that Linda is now happily married to the owner of the local general store. The only vestige of her past that remains is a daughter, who Frank is surprised to learn is his. The daughter, of course, does not know about Frank. Linda, not wanting her to know that her father was a notorious gunfighter has given her a fictional father that died a hero's death at the First Battle of Bull Run. Frank quickly learns that Linda's reason for calling for him has nothing to do with romantic feelings. She wants him to protect her husband. It seems that there was an attempted bank robbery in town and the local sheriff and one of the robbers was killed. The other robber is in jail, waiting to be hanged, and Linda's husband has been appointed to the job of temporary sheriff. A cousin of the prisoner is set to be released from prison in a few days, and has made it clear that he will do whatever is necessary to get his kin out of jail. Linda's husband believes that the town will back him up when the showdown comes, but Linda knows better. She knows that he will be killed unless Frank agrees to help him. The story unfolds as Frank comes to terms with the fact that Linda and, for that matter, his newly discovered daughter are forever beyond his reach. He must decide whether to help the man that now has the woman he loves or to simply ride away. —Dave Gan <longbow@bigfoot.com>