Ward Bond

The town drunk - former deputy sheriff, Dude, (Dean Martin) enters a saloon through the back door. He's dirty, unshaven and broke. A man called Joe Burdette (Claude Akins), the brother of the wealthy, corrupt local rancher Nathan, (John Russell) stands at the bar smiling as he watches how desperate Dude looks for a drink. He tosses a coin into the spittoon and laughs. Dude reluctantly bends down to pick it up but his old friend sheriff John T.Chance (John Wayne) kicks it out of the way. Burdette smiles and Chance starts to approach him. Dude feeling shamed picks up a piece of wood and knocks Chance out with it. Joe still smiles. Dude goes to hit him but Joe's men grab him and beat him. As Joe starts on him, an unarmed customer grabs his arm to stop him and Joe pulls out his gun and shoots him dead. He strolls out of the saloon leaving Chance and Dude half unconscious near the dead body. Joe walks into another of the town's bars and Chance walks in, head bleeding, dazed and pointing his rifle at him to arrest him. He tells him he's under arrest. Because of Joe's connections, there's some men to back him up in this saloon as well. A man stands behind Chance and pulls his gun on him. Dude appears at the salon doors and whips out someone else's gun and shoots the other gunman's hand to protect Chance. Joe goes for his gun and Chance knocks him out with his rifle. Dude helps Chance take him over to jail. The next day, as the funeral of Joe's victim takes place, a wagon train arrives in town led by Pat Wheeler (Ward Bond) and his youthful gunslinging helper, Colorado (Ricky Nelson). Pat and Chance are old friends and Chance tells him about the trouble going on in town. Burdette has his men scattered all over and he only has his reinstated deputy dude and old, crippled Stumpy (Walter Brennan) for support. There's no way he can get Joe out of town to the marshal, - he's going to have to wait a few days for the marshal and his posse to arrive to pick him up. Pat goes off to leave the wagons which are filled with oil and dynamite near Nathan's warehouse, while Chance and Dude join Stumpy inside for a drink of beer. Just as Dude is about to take a drink near the cell, Joe starts to taunt him again about his shaking and trying to dry out. Dude throws the glass bottle at the bars in anger. A package arrives for the hotel owner Carlos (Pedro Gonzalez) and Chance takes it over for him.It's some underwear for his wife Consuela. As Chance and Carlos are talking, a woman appears at the door,"Feathers" (Angie Dickinson). Just arrived in town, she laughs at the sight of the sheriff and Carlos with the underwear.Chance walks out. Later at night, Chance,Dude and Stumpy are sat at the office. Chance and Stumpy see that Dude is restless and suffering with the drying out process.Realising he needs a distraction, Chance tells Stumpy that he and Dude are going to patrol the town. As they wander the street, Carlos comes out of the hotel and tells Chance that Pat has been spreading the word around that the sheriff needs some help. Chance goes inside and interrupts the card game that Pat's having with Colorado, Feathers and a few others. The two of them have a talk at the bar. Chance warns him that anybody who goes around publicly asking for people to help him out could end up dead. Pat offers to help him but Chance tells him no. He'd be no good if he needs Colorado for protection. So Pat offers him Colorado's help. As he goes to get him, Chance inspects a deck of cards that Pat and the others were playing with. Pat brings Colorado over but the young man says he's not interested. He's just going to mind his own business. Pat tells Chance that he's leaving in the morning. Chance gets ready to leave and notices Feathers winning another hand. He follows her up to her room to have a word with her. He tells her that the cards he looked at had three aces missing. He pulls out a wanted bill for a con-man and he's identified her as the man's partner. She admits she is but says she hasn't cheated. She says he's going to have to search her. As Chance starts to feel uncomfortable, Colorado appears and tells him he thinks it's the man with the checkered vest who's been cheating. They approach him downstairs and he tries to go for his gun but Colorado's faster. He whips his gun out and after searching him, he finds the cards. Chance tells Carlos to lock the man in his room all night and to make sure he leaves town in the morning. He tells the others to split his winnings between them and thanks Colorado. Colorado asks him about Feathers but Chance is reluctant to apologise to her. He just tells her he was wrong. He leaves the hotel and asks Dude where Pat is. Pat's walking down the street towards them but he is shot by a man hiding in the stable. Chance and Dude run to him but he's dead. Colorado asks Chance if he can help them pursue the gunman but Chance says no. Chance bursts into the barn but the gunman gets away to the saloon. Dude gets a few shots of and thinks he might have got him. Chance lets Dude go in the front entrance of the saloon while he goes through the back. The customers tell them that no one has entered. Dude looks for a man with muddy boots as the gunman watches from the balcony. None of the men have muddy boots. He even checks the barman's to make sure. The men start laughing at him.One of them tosses a coin into the spitoon. Dude looks shameful and Chance looks doubtful about his mind but Dude notices some blood dripping into a glass of beer on the bar. Dude knows he's there. He turns around, whips out his gun and shoots up at him. The dead body lands in front of the bar. Dude finds a 50 dollar goldpiece on him and know it's the work of Burdette offering money to hitmen. Chance confronts the man who told them no one came in and hits him over the head with his rifle. He tells the barman to collect the mens guns and take them over to the jail. Chance tells Dude that he'll let him go in the front often. Colorado arrives at the office with some of Pat's belongings. He thanks Dude for getting the man who killed him and tells Chance that he's just taken him to the undertaker's. Chance has to keep hold of all of Pat's belongings until he gets a court order, including the wagons, which means Colorado has to stay in the town for a while, broke. Chance goes to the hotel and finds Feathers at the bar. She apologises for acting the way she did. He tells her how he became the sheriff and she tells him what happened to her gambling husband. He cheated people one too many times and was murdered. Chance knows the sheriff who put out the wanted bills for her and tells her that he'll write him a letter to stop anymore been put out which she appreciates. The next morning, Chance wakes up late and wants to know why Carlos has let him sleep in. He says that Feathers told him to leave him and that she kept watch on his room all night sat in a chair in the hallway.Chance confronts her about it and tells her it was a stupid thing to do. He tells her she better get ready for the stagecoach. Dude is on watch making sure that the visitors in the town leave their guns in his possession upon arrival to be collected when they leave. Nathan Burdette rides into town with a bunch of men. He tells them to leave their guns while they visit Joe. They refuse but Dude shoots the raines on one of the men's horse and then they do what he says. They ride up to the office and Chance tells them that he's only letting Nathan see Joe. While he sees him, Chance lets Nathan know how angry he is about what he's been doing and the fact that Pat is dead. He tells him that if he and his men even try to attack the office, Stumpy will blow his brother away before he knows what's happening. After Nathan leaves, Stumpy asks Chance why he let him go. Chance says because whatever they are going to do is planned already and if Nathan's in jail when it happens it will just give him an alibi. Carlos arrives and tells Chance that Feathers never got on the stagecoach to leave. Chance goes over to her room wanting to know why. She says she doesn't want to leave town until all the trouble's over and she knows he's alright. Colorado sits in the saloon watching Nathan and his men drinking at the bar. Nathan walks over to the mariachi band. He whispers to them, leaves them some money and walks out with his men as they start to play a slow Mexican tune. The music plays out across the town all day into the quiet night as Chance and Dude listen to it.Colorado approaches them and tells Chance that Nathan asked them to play the tune. He says it's Nathan's way of sending him a message.It's called The Deguelio, a cutthroat song, a tune the Mexicans played for the Texans when they had them pent up at the Alamo. It's Nathan's way of saying No mercy. As Chance, Dude and Stumpy sit around in the office, Dude asks Chance about how he feels about Feathers. Chance is reluctant to talk about it. Dude brings up the fact that when a woman arrived in town off a stagecoach that he liked, he was the first person to warn him about her and he turned out to be right. Stumpy comes out from the jail and asks Chance to go and get him some coffee. Dude tells him that he's finding Stumpy's gun a little stiff and wants to file the action. Stumpy says no and tells Chance to give him his hold guns. He's been keeping them for a year and bought them off the man who Dude had sold them to when he was at rock bottom. Chance takes Dude over to the hotel to get washed and cleaned up. When he leaves, Feathers tells Chance that she's staying on at the hotel to bartend.Chance hears a gunshot go off over at the jail and runs over. He realises that Stumpy had fired at Dude after failing to recognise him and assuming it was one of Burdette's men trying to get in. Dude isn't hit but he's angry. He fully realises the dirty looking state he must have been in for the last two years. And Stumpy feels ashamed that he nearly killed his good friend. The next morning, whilst on his watch, some of Burdette's men sneak up to him from behind. They dunk his head in the horse trough and knock him out. They tie him up in the barn and one of the men, dressed in identical clothes, takes his place in the street so that Chance won't suspect anything. Chance talks to Colorado at the entrance of the hotel and Colorado goes inside for some matches just as Burdette's men approach. Chance is rolling a cigarette and his rifle is out of arm's reach as them men catch him off guard and pull their guns on him. They tell him they want Joe.Colorado sees what's going on from inside and tells Feathers to throw a plant pot through the window after counting to three. He calmly walks out side,he window smashes, just long enough to distract the men and Colorado tosses Chance his rifle and they gun them down.The fourth man in the distance tries to ride off but Chance shoots him too and goes to check on Dude. He finds him in the barn and unties him. Feeling ashamed and with the shakes becoming worse, Dude tells Chance he's had enough and that he's quitting. Chance tells him he's had enough too and that if he's going to get drunk don't expect to ask for his help again. Dude hits Chance. Chance tells him to wait for him at the office and he'll pay him what he owes him. Chance tells the undertaker to bury the men and it will be paid for by the town. The undertaker says there's no need. He's found enough money on the men to cover the costs. Chance realises that Nathan's price offer to get Joe out is going up. Feathers is sat at the bar with Colorado getting drunk and feeling emotional. Chance tells her that he appreciates what she did and offers Colorado a job as his deputy. Colorado agrees this time. He gives Colorado his badge at the office while Dude watches feeling helpless. Colorado goes to collect his stuff ready o sleep at the jail. Dude sits quiely craving a drink. Stumpy tells him not to but Chance, fed up with his self pitying, tells him to drink the whole bottle. Dude pours himself a glass and the Mexican tune starts to play again. He decides against it. He slowly pours the glass back into the bottle and tells them the shakes have stopped. He asks Chance for another opportunity which Chance is more than willing to give him. At night, Dude,Colorado and Stumpy have a little sing along while they sit around. Stumpy says it's better than been shot at in the street, which gives Chance the idea of shutting themselves away for a few days while they wait for the marshal to arrive. Chance and Dude go to the hotel to ask Carlos for some food and blankets. Carlos goes out back but finds that has Consuela has been taken hostage by some of Burdette's men. Dude takes a bath while Chance keeps guard on the landing talking to Feathers. He tells her he won't be seeing her for a few days. Burdette's men want to keep Chance alive so that they can get Joe out. So they tie a thin piece of rope across the bottom of the stairs,so that he trips over it as he charges down towards the screaming that they force Consuela to do. As Chance trips over it,he knocks himself out as he hits the floor. The men also take Dude and Feathers hostage. They want to trade Chance and Dude for Joe but Chance tells them there's no way Stumpy would do that. They tell Chance that he's going to have to tell Stumpy that they've put up bail for his release.Dude tells him they've no choice.Stumpy's old and alone. It's best to release Joe. Chance walks into the office with the two men behind him pointing guns at his back. One man waits outside.Stumpy is behind the bars with a shotgun ready. Chance calmly tells him that he's going to release Joe. Stumpy tells him the keys are on his desk and when Chance moves to get them, Stumpy blows the two men away. The third man runs in and Colorado wounds him.While Stumpy keeps guard on him,Chance and Colorado run over to the hotel to save Dude. But when they get there, they only find Feathers untying Carlos and Consuela. The men have taken off with Dude out the back door. Chance decides not to go after them in case it reults in Dude been killed.Instead he tells Carlos to get in touch with Nathan to tell him he wants to talk to him. He asks Feathers if she now regrets staying. She shakes her head. Chance, Stumpy and Colorado wait at the office for news from Carlos. When he turns up, he tells them that Nathan wants a deal.Trade Dude for Joe. Chance agrees.Stumpy wants to go but Chance tells him he's too old and slow to get involved in any trouble in wide open spaces. Stumpy reluctantly stays. Chance and Colorado leave and walk through the town to the barn overlooking Nathan's warehouse. Chance and Colorado get ready with their guns. Chance is happy to see Dude still alive and well as they bring him out. Joe starts walking towards Nathan and his men as Dude starts walking towards Chance and Colorado. Just as the two men are about to walk passed each other, Dude lunges for Joe and they start fighting behind a wall, as Chance and Colorado engage in a gunfight between the men hiding in the warehouse. Dude knock Joe out and Colorado tosses him a gun. During the shootout, a few men try and escape across the creek to try and get behind Chance and Colorado to ambush them. Chance and Colorado shoot a couple of them but two manage to get across. But two explosive gunshots are fired out of view and the men drop dead. Chance recognizes the laugh belonging to Stumpy. Chance and Colorado are pleased but Colorado tells Chance that Stumpy is near the wagons that are full of dynamite. Carlos arrives to help Chance with a big shotgun. Chance runs out of the barn to get across to warn Stumpy as the gunfight carries on. From behind a wall and out of range of the dynamite,Stumpy throws a couple of unlit sticks towards the warehouse for Chance and Dude to fire at and blow up. The dynamite gets closer and closer to the warehouse and on the final one that Chance fires at, the whole warehouse nearly blows up. The Burdette brothers and the remaining henchmen tell them they give up and come walking out unarmed. Later at night, the town is peaceful again. The remaining men have taken off and Chance goes over to the hotel to see Feathers. As he passionately embraces her, she throws her tights out of the window into the street. Dude and Stumpy are passing and walk off smiling and laughing.

In China, in 1943, after the Japanese have cut off supply lines and American pilots are ferrying food, medical supplies and refugees, Capt. Cliff Brandon (Victor Mature) lands at the American air base in Kunming after a flight from India. Cliff, who has been saddled with an inexperienced crew, has become demoralized and morose as a result of his war experiences and spends most of his free time drinking in Sadie's Place, a local bar where he is often propositioned by young women. One night, Cliff leaves the bar in a drunken state and encounters an old man (W.T. Chang) in the street, who offers him the company of a young woman. Unable to communicate with the old man, Cliff wakes up the next morning to find that the girl, Shu-Jen (Li Hua Li), has followed him home and intends to stay. Father Cairns (Ward Bond), a priest who operates St. Joseph's Mission, visits Cliff for coffee, and Cliff quickly explains the misunderstanding about the girl, then orders Ellington (Danny Chang), a young Chinese boy who spends time at the airfield, to get rid of her. Later, after Cairns finds Shu-Jen outside Sadie's expecting to get a job as a "hostess," he takes her with him to the mission. When Cliff visits Cairns for a game of chess, the priest explains that Shu-Jen is one of 11 children, three of whom have died, and that Cliff, in his drunken state, agreed to hire her as a bonded servant for three months. Cairns adds that pride decrees that she act as his housekeeper and that the money will certainly help her family. Initially, Cliff refuses, but relents and takes Shu-Jen to Alice Nichols (Elaine Devry), an American Red Cross canteen worker, to find clean clothes for her. Meanwhile, Dan O'Neill (Stuart Whitman), one of Cliff's crew, is romancing Mona Perkins (Ann McCrea), another Red Cross volunteer. At his home, Cliff instructs Ellington to tell Shu-Jen that she is to be only his housekeeper, then asks the boy to stay with him as house guest and chaperon. After Col. Wiley (Denver Pyle) assigns Cliff to fly refugees to Calcutta, he returns with medical supplies for Cairns and a small brooch for Shu-Jen. However, Cliff has a malaria attack and, delirious, allows Shu-Jen to lie beside him for comfort. Cliff recovers, but goes to tell Cairns that "something happened" and that Shu-Jen should go home. Upon discovering that Shu-Jen is pregnant, Alice, a war widow who has become romantically involved with crew member Phil Gates (Bob Mathias), tells Cliff that he has neither honor, nor decency. When Cliff returns home, he finds that Shu-Jen has just left for her home. Cliff drives after her, finds her and tells her that, although it has taken him a while to realize it, he is in love with her. However, when Cliff enlists Ellington's help in formally proposing marriage, Shu-Jen declines, fearful that their marriage will create problems for him. With Cairns's help, Cliff finally convinces Shu-Jen, and they are married in a traditional Chinese ceremony. At the ceremony, Wiley tells Cliff and his crew that they have to leave the next day to fly out of a different base. Later, Cliff, now a changed man, receives word that Shu-Jen has had a baby girl and a few weeks later, when Alice and Mona are reassigned to the same base, they bring Shu-Jen, who has learned some English, the baby and Ellington with them. After a successful mission to drop supplies to troops on an offensive in Burma, Cliff and his crew learn that their airbase is being bombed by the Japanese. Although fired on by enemy planes, Cliff manages to land and plans to evacuate the base. Tragically, he learns that Shu-Jen has been killed in the attack and that the baby is missing. As Wylie has also been killed, Cliff is now in command and orders the plane to leave without him. Cliff then goes back to where Shu-Jen was killed and hears a baby crying. In a pile of rubble, Cliff finds his daughter alive, under the body of Ellington, who died protecting her. A Japanese plane returns to strafe the base and Cliff is hit. He places his identification tags in the baby's hands, then mans an anti-aircraft gun and shoots down several planes before being killed in a direct hit. In 1957, at Los Angeles International Airport, Alice and Phil, Dan and Mona, and others from Cliff's crew eagerly await the arrival of a flight. After many years of searching, Father Cairns has located Cliff and Shu-Jen's daughter in an orphanage in Hong Kong and has sent her to America to be looked after by her parents' friends. A teenager (Tita Aragon), displaying Cliff's dog tags, descends the steps from the plane, and they all embrace.

Three years after the end of the Civil War, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) rides onto the Texas farm owned by his brother, Aaron (Walter Coy). Aaron is a little wary of Ethan, who has not been seen since the surrender of the Confederate Army, but his children -- Lucy, Ben and Debbie -- are all overjoyed to see him. So is Martha (Dorothy Jordan), Aaron's wife; she and Ethan clearly are in love though they cannot act on it. Aaron and Martha's adopted quarter Cherokee son Martin arrives for dinner. He greets Ethan but Ethan is very unhappy in his presence despite the fact that he is the one who found him abandoned as an infant. Martin and everybody else can see Ethan's dislike for him. As the night draws in,Martin sits outside on the porch feeling distant from the family in Ethan's presence. He goes to off to bed as do the other kids, and Aaron and Martha soon discover that Ethan is in possession of newly minted Northern money. Aaron agrees to hide the money for Ethan and tells him he is free to stay as long as he likes. Ethan knows his welcome is tenuous, however, and after everyone else goes to bed, sits alone on the porch. The next morning, the Reverend Captain Samuel Clayton (Ward Bond), the area's minister and captain of the Texas Rangers, comes with a posse to the farm. Someone has run off Lars Jorgensen's (John Qualen) cattle. Clayton deputizes Aaron and Martin to join the Rangers' posse. Ethan tells Aaron he is not to go but instead to stay close to home in case the cattle rustling was in fact a diversionary ploy by aggressive Native Americans. Clayton is glad to see his former compatriot in the Confederate Army but also mentions that Ethan matches the description of a lot of wanted criminals. Ethan agrees to go with the Rangers to search for the cattle but refuses to swear an oath to the state of Texas, believing that his oath to the Confederacy is sufficient. They ride off and follow the trail and it isn't long before Marty tries to share his concerns about what they are following with Ethan, but Ethan is dismissive because of Marty's biracial heritage. After several hours of riding, the posse finds Jorgensen's cattle slaughtered in the desert. They realize that a band of Comanche Indians have lured them away from their farms. Because Jorgensen's farm is closest, most of the posse rides there. Ethan, Marty and the slightly demented Mose Harper (Hank Worden) decide to ride for Aaron's farm. But Marty wants to ride off straight away and Ethan knows that the horses won't make it. They need resting for a while. Martin doesn't care and angrily rides off anyway. As dusk sets in,Aaron becomes suspicious at his farm as he hears noises in the distance.Fully aware of what Mose was saying about the Comanches, he and Martha try to stay calm in front of the kids while Aaron picks up a shotgun to pretend he's going to do some hens.Martha starts to close the windows and put out the lights.Lucy realises what is going on and starts to scream in terror.Martha slaps her and tries to calm her and comfort her. They get Debbie out of the window so that she can go off to safety while they prepare for the inevitable.Debbie runs off and sits by an headstone. A shadow looms over her. it is the chief of the tribe, Scar. He blows his horn to call his tribe. Early in the morning,Ethan and Mose ride along and see Martin stood wanting a ride from them. His horse has failed to make the journey but Ethan rides along passed him and Mose follows. Ethan sees that the ranch is burned down and rides down to try to find any survivors from the attack.Aaron, Martha and Ben have been slaughtered, and Lucy and Debbie are missing. As the funeral takes place and the people sing an hymn, Ethan becomes frustrated and just what's to get on with taking revenge. He tells Clayton to cut the prayer short so that they can go searching for Debbie and Lucy. They find a partially buried Indian corpse,who has died apparently from from been wounded during the attack. Ethan shoots the warrior's eyes out to further mutilate the corpse and prevent it from reaching the afterlife. Soon Ethan finds the Comanches setting up camp near a river 20 miles away from where the rest of the posse are.He returns to them and tells them they'll wait until nightfall and attack them. Clayton doesn't think it's a good idea because it could result in Lucy and Debbie been killed. Instead they slowly sneak in but find that they are gone.As they travel along the desert,the Comanches try to get the posse into a trap. They manage to make it to the other side of the river and fend them off in a gun battle,which results in one of them been wounded. As the Comnahces try to collect their dead and injured members,Ethan tries to shoot more of them but Clayton stops him. Full of rage, Ethan angrily tells them that he's going on alone to pursue them.Marty and Lucy's boyfriend Brad Jorgensen (Harry Carey, Jr.) want to join him.Ethan agrees on the condition that he's in charge.The three of them separate from the rest of them,who return home with the wounded member of the group. Soon Brad the Indians encampment one night, he believes he sees Lucy's distinctive dress. Ethan tells him that he found Lucy's defiled corpse in a canyon when the three men had split up to follow different trails. Insane with rage, Brad rides wildly into the Indian camp on his own.Marty tries to stop him but Ethan grabs him to prevent him following.Gunshots are heard in the distance and Brad is soon killed. Ethan and Marty continue on their search but as winter sets in, they lose their trail. They return to the Jorgensens' ranch. Marty has a tenuous romantic relationship with the Jorgensens' daughter, Laurie (Vera Miles). Mrs. Jorgensen gives Ethan a letter from a trader named Futterman who says he might have information about Debbie. Ethan arranges for Marty to stay with the Jorgensens but Marty wants to go with him. However in the morning, he discovers that Ethan has taken off on his own. Fearing that Ethan will kill Debbie if he finds her, he still takes off after him much to Laurie's displeasure. At Futterman's trading post he tells them that he purchased a swatch of calico print dress from an Indian band led by a war chief named Scar. Marty recognises it as Debbie's. Futterman tells them that she was taken by Scar,the chief of the Nawyecka tribe.Ethan pays Futterman part of the reward. He tells him he'll get the rest when and if they find Debbie.Futterman asks them if they want to stay the night but Ethan refuses. He knows Futterman is after his money.Later that night, Futterman and two accomplices follow Ethan and Marty for the rest of the money. But Ethan knows what they are up to. He leaves Marty by the camp fire to sleep while he goes to hide with a rifle,ready to take the men out. He shoots all three men in the back and retrieves his money from the dead body.Marty is angry that Ethan just left him for bait but Ethan just calmly tells him to get ready to move on. By now, the search for Debbie has continued for a year or more. Marty writes a letter to Laurie detailing his and Ethan's attempts to find Debbie.Charlie McCory delivers the letter and she reads it out loud to the family and narrates the next part of their journey. Ethan and Marty have traveled out of Texas into Colorado and parts north. Laurie is outraged to learn that Marty accidentally acquired an Indian bride, Look (Beulah Archuletta) while trying to trade for blankets with a different band of Comanche. Marty tried to drive her away but Ethan finds the situation amusing. When Look learned they were tracking Scar, she abandoned them in the night. They later found her in a Comanche camp that had been slaughtered by the American calvary. Marty and Ethan visited a local fort where white women who had been with the Comanche are, having been rescued by the cavalry. Ethan and Martin tell them that they are looking for a girl who was taken and will be around the age of 14 now. They are taken to three girls of that age,who appear to be deranged from their experiences but none of them are Debbie. One of the girls snatches Debbie's doll from Marty's hands and as she rocks with it back and forth, Ethan looks her horrified,thinking of what Debbie will be like if they find her.Laurie finshes reading the letter by telling everyone that Ethan and Marty are heading for the new territory. Laurie swears she will give up on Marty, which delights Charlie, who begins to serenade her. Five years later, Ethan and Marty are in New Mexico territory, where they find Mose in a cantina. He has met Figueroa, a merchant who trades with Scar's tribe. Figueroa takes them to meet Scar (Henry Brandon). Scar and Ethan are both annoyed to learn each speaks the other's language. In Scar's tent, Ethan and Marty see Debbie (Natalie Wood), now a teenager. They return to their own camp by a creek. Marty asks Ethan if Scar wants to kill them.Ethan reckons so and explains that the only reason he has let them escape with their lives for now is because of the Comanche code of honour. In the distance Debbie comes running down the sand dune to Marty. He begs her to try and remember him. She says she does but the Comanche are her people now and they must leave her. Ethan pulls out his gun and orders Marty to move away from her so that he can kill her but Marty blocks him. Just then, Scar's warriors attack and Ethan is wounded by a poisoned arrow. He and Marty ride off with the Indians in pursuit.They take cover in a cave and fend them off with their pistols.Ethan rests up,while Marty tends to him. Later,Ethan gives him a letter to read. He wants Marty to take all his possessions should he die but Marty isn't happy about it,as Debbie's his next of kin. But Ethan just considers her an indian now and not a relation.Marty refuses to accept it and tells him he hopes he dies. A while later, they return to the Jorgensens just as Laurie and Charlie are about to be married. They are just about to enter the house when Lars tries to stop them and tells them they are wanted for Futterson's death.He tells them to hide but Ethan walks in anyway to greet everyone.His return is met with silence. Marty is upset to find out that Laurie was going to marry someone else and shocked when he finds out it's Charlie.They end up having a fight and although neither man wins, the wedding is called off. Just as Clayton is about to arrest Ethan and Marty, a young calvary officer called Lt.Greenhill (Patrick Wayne) arrives with Mose who had been captured by Scar's tribe but managed to escape once they came close to the Jorgensens' farm. Clayton organizes his Rangers again and, with Ethan and Marty, they ride out to confront Scar. Ethan wants to charge into Scar's camp, hoping that Scar will kill Debbie so he doesn't have to. Marty persuades Clayton (who is in charge) to let him sneak into camp and rescue Debbie before the charge. When he does so, he has to keep her from screaming for help. Scar enters the tent but Marty beats him to the draw, killing him. Clayton, Ethan and the Rangers charge into the camp, killing or scattering the Comanche. Ethan finds Scar's body and scalps it.As he rides out of the tent holding the scalp, he sees Debbie in the distance.Fearing for her life she runs away and Ethan rides after her.Knocking Marty aside, he pursues near a cave. As she cowers, he reaches down and picks her up. Cradling her in his arms, he says, "Let's go home, Debbie." Ethan and Marty take Debbie back to the Jorgensens' ranch, where Lars, Mrs. Jorgensen, and Mose (sitting on the porch on a rocking chair) are waiting. They take her inside, followed by Marty and Laurie. Ethan stands outside, then turns and walks away as the door closes on him.

The Long Gray Line is based on the life of Martin "Marty" Maher, Jr. (25 June 1876 17 January 1961). Maher was an Irish immigrant from Ballycrine, County Tipperary, Ireland, who joined the United States Army in 1898 and rose to the rank of Master Sergeant. He served as a revered and beloved swimming instructor at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, from 1899 to 1928. Maher retired from the Army in 1928 and stayed at West Point as a civil service (civilian) employee in the athletic department and retired from that in 1946, completing 50 years of service at "The Point" (including two years as a waiter prior to his enlistment). Maher was named an honorary member of the classes of 1912, 1926 and 1928. His autobiography, Bringing Up The Brass: My 55 Years at West Point, cowritten by Nardi Reeder Campion, was published in 1951 by David McKay Company Inc. and was the source of the film. Maher died on 17 January 1961, at the age of 84 and is buried in the West Point Cemetery.

A gunfighter's main hope lies in the trust of a beautiful woman who hides him out when he is wrongly suspected of a stagecoach massacre. A gunfighter, stranded in the desert, comes across the aftermath of a stage robbery, in which all the passengers were killed. He takes one of the horses to ride to town to report the massacre, but finds himself accused of it. He also finds himself accused of the murder of the local banker, and winds up hiding in the basement of a house where the local sheriff, who is very sick, lives with his daughter. —frankfob2@yahoo.com

At a remote ranch in the desert of New Mexico, homesteader Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page) and her six year-old son Johnny (Lee Aaker) come upon a stranger (John Wayne) drinking water from their river, carrying only a saddle and a rifle. The man tells them only his last name, Lane, and that he is part Apache and was exploring Indian Territory as a US Army Cavalry scout. His horse was stolen a few days earlier, and offers US Army scrip in exchange for one of her horses. Angie tells Lane that her ranch hand had quit recently and hadn't had a chance to break one of her two horses for riding, so Lane offers to break the horse himself. He also asks where her husband is, and she says he is hunting in the mountains and should be back soon. Johnny watches with fascination as Lane takes one of the horses, and saddles and rides the bucking and untamed animal with ease. Lane also offers to do a few chores around the ranch, including sharpening an axe blade and chopping firewood. Lane deduces by the neglected work around the ranch that her husband has not been at the ranch for some time, a fact she is forced to admit. When night falls and the weather grows inclement, Angie offers to put Lane up in her home on a floor bed in the corner. Angie discovers that the butt of his rifle is inscribed to "Hondo" Lane, a name she knows to belong to a criminal, and she pulls a pistol on him and fires, but there is no cartridge in the first chamber. She had left it empty so that Johnny wouldn't shoot it accidentally. Hondo returns to his Cavalry post, leaving Angie and Johnny alone at the ranch, where he meets up with his scout sidekick Buffalo Baker (Ward Bond) and reports to his commanding officer that the Chiricauhua Apache lodges in the area are banding together and attacking settlers. At the ranch, Angie and Johnny are surrounded by menacing Apaches led by Chief Vittorio (Michael Pate) and his sub-chief, Silva (Rodolfo Acosta). Angie is not nervous as she has always let them water their horses at her ranch and they had never hurt her. On this occasion, they threaten and grab Angie. Johnny emerges from the house with the loaded pistol and shoots at Silva, hitting and breaking his weapon. Vittorio is impressed by Johnny's bravery, and makes him an Apache blood brother by cutting Johhny's thumb with a knife and giving him an Apache name. Vittorio wonders where Angie's husband is, and she tells him that he will return soon. Vittorio tells her that the boy needs a father to guide him, and unless her husband returns soon, she must take an Apache husband. A night or two later in a saloon, Hondo calls a friend from his poker game, but one of the poker party objects. He and Hondo get into a fight, and Hondo beats the man up badly, driving him out the door. Buffalo Baker tells Hondo the man called himself "Ed Lowe" (Leo Gordon), and Hondo suspects he might be Angie's missing husband. Feeling guilty, he leaves the fort to return Angie's horse back to her. Seeking revenge for the bar beating, Lowe and an accomplice follow Hondo through the desert as he makes his way back to Angie's ranch. Hondo camps near a river but leaves it when he detects three Indians stalking him nearby. Lowe enters the camp and he and his friend are attacked by two Indians. The friend is killed, but Hondo shoots and kills an Apache about to kill Lowe. Lowe is briefly grateful but turns his gun on Hondo in retaliation for the bar beating. Hondo defends himself, killing Lowe. Hondo finds a photo of Johnny alongside Lowe's body, confirming that Lowe is Johnny's father and Angie's husband. Continuing towards Lowe's ranch, Hondo runs into an Apache party, who pursue Hondo through the desert. He kills several but they eventually capture him. They take Hondo to the top of a nearby mesa when Vittorio appears. They stake him out and begin to torture and prepare to kill him because he is an Army scout. An Indian shows Vittorio the picture of Johnny from Hondo's saddlebag, and Vittoria thinks Hondo is Angie's husband. He orders the Indians to untie him and declares that he must fight Silva for honor, as he is one of Angie's potential suitors. Hondo and Silva fight using knives. Silva wounds Hondo in the shoulder, but Hondo pins Silva to the ground. Hondo puts his knife to Silva's throat, but Vittoria steps forward and Hondo spares Silva's life, temporarily buying his own life in return. Vittorio takes Hondo to Angie's ranch, and when Vittoria asks if Hondo is her husband, she lies, saving Hondo. The Chief warns Hondo to raise Johnny in the Apache way and leaves them. While Hondo recuperates from his wounds, he shows her the picture of Johnny that he tells her he took from Lowe's body. She asks if he died well, and Hondo pauses before saying that he had. Over the next few weeks, Hondo and Angie grow closer. Hondo and Angie express their growing love for each other. Hondo attempts to reveal the truth of her husband's death, but is interrupted by Vittorio's sudden appearance. Vittorio tells them that the pony soldiers will soon return. He asks Hondo not to join them and to keep the Indian's location a secret. Hondo promises to do the first but not the latter, and Vittoria shows respect for Hondo's truthfulness. Angie tells him she loves him, and they cement their relationship with a kiss. The Army arrives at the ranch, commanded by an ambitious, inexperienced young Lt. McKay (Tom Irish) and accompanied by scouts Baker and Lennie (James Arness). McKay is determined to take all the settlers in the area back to the Army post to protect them and defend the territory against Apache attacks. Lennie reveals that he discovered Lowe's body and matched the horse tracks to Hondo's horse. He wants Hondo's Winchester rifle in exchange for keeping quiet about how Hondo bushwhacked Lowe. Angie overhears Lennie's demands. Hondo prepares to leave, but before he goes, he tells her the truth about her husband's death. Hondo is also intent on telling Johnny, but she persuades him not to, telling Hondo she didn't love her husband any longer and had grown tired of his womanizing and gambling. She says it would be an unkind thing to tell the boy about the true nature of his father's death and that the secret won't follow them to Hondo's ranch in California. Hondo responds to her emotional plea with an Indian word that seals a squaw-seeking ceremony, "Varlabania", which he tells her means "forever". The Army leaves to move further on into Apache territory and as promised Hondo refuses to go with them but tells them where Vittorio and his party are. The Army returns after being ambushed by the Apaches, suffering heavy casualties including wounds to Lt. McKay. Vittorio had been killed, causing the Apaches to retreat so they can regroup and select a new chief. Hondo leads the Cavalry and settlers back towards the fort, taking Angie and Johnny with them. The group is attacked by the Apaches, now led by Silva, but the group circles their wagons. They escape the encirclement twice but the Apaches continue their pursuit. Hondo loses his mount and is attacked by Silva, but Honda kills him, retrieving Lt. McKay's uniform shirt from his body. The Indians retreat again to choose a replacement chief. Lt. McKay says the General Crook will be arriving in the territory with a large force to pursue the Apache. Hondo sadly notes the end of the Apache "way of life."

In South America, after Jeff Dawson and Dutch Peterson's oil rigs are dynamited by local bandits, the two partners resort to risky transportation of nitroglycerin to raise money. In a hypothetical country in South America, Jeff Dawson and his partner Dutch Peterson have invested all their savings in a lease contract to explore oil. However, their expectation ruins when bandits blow the derrick of the oil well with dynamite and they get stranded in the town without any money. In despair, they accept the risky transportation of nitroglycerin to raise US$ 800.00 and Dutch is shot in the leg by road thieves; but Jeff discovers that their employer is a trickster and they area not paid for their job. When their former friend Paco Conway meets them, Jeff finds that he is a local tycoon and is married with Marina Conway, who had a past with him. Paco hires Jeff his foreman to help him with his eighteen oil wells while Dutch is recovering in the hospital. Meanwhile the criminals press Paco to pay US$ 50,000.00 otherwise they will blow his wells and Marina revives her love and desire for Jeff, leading the trio to a tragedy. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

An American, Sean Thornton (John Wayne), arrives in Ireland and plans to settle in Innisfree, where he was born. On the way to Innisfree with Michaeleen Oge Flynn (Barry Fitzerald), Sean spots a redheaded woman moving a flock through the fields. He becomes interested in this unknown woman, and greets her at the church entrance the next day, where he learns her name - Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara), a redhead with a temper to match. Sean wants to buy the ancestral Thornton cottage from well-to-do widow, Sarah Tillane (Mildred Natwick), and finds himself in a squabble with "Red" Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen), a neighbor and would-be suitor of the Widow Tillane. Mrs. Tillane, angered by Danaher's presumptuous attitude and bragging at the local pub, sells the land to Thornton. When Sean goes to claim the cottage, he finds Mary Kate there, cleaning it as a good Christian act. Thornton easily fits into Innisfree, earning a reputation as a quiet, peace-loving man. Danaher, however, holds a grudge. When Thornton arranges to court Danaher's sister, Mary Kate, the real fun begins. Thornton learns that Ireland's quaint charm includes some old-fashioned rules of courtship. He needs Squire Danaher's consent to marry Mary Kate, since their father is deceased. He and the local shaughraun (matchmaker), Michaleen Flynn, pay a formal visit to Danaher to ask for Mary Kate's hand. Danaher refuses and orders the two men out of his house. Sean and Mary Kate are devastated. Sean is puzzled by social rules that seem archaic to him, and takes out his frustrations by seemingly reckless cross country rides. Concerned, Thornton's newfound friends - Flynn, Reverend Playfair (Arthur Shields), and Father Lonergan (Ward Bond) - concoct a plot to trick Danaher into consenting to the marriage. They lead Danaher to believe Sean is courting the widow Tillane, who will have nothing to do with Danaher until Mary Kate is married off and out of the house. Danaher agrees to the courtship when Thornton wins the local cross country race, claiming the Widow's bonnet as his trophy. The Thornton/Danaher courtship quickly skips a few months of steps and soon turns into a wedding, but Squire Danaher, furious upon learning (at the reception) that he has been duped, reneges on Mary Kate's promised dowry of 350 pounds (Irish Currency). The money is a trifle to Sean Thornton, who has learned for himself that money isn't worth fighting for, and refuses to "shame" himself by begging for it. Mary Kate perceives Sean's lack of action as cowardice, and refuses her new groom his marital privileges. Tension builds in Innisfree, a highly sporting community, as the townspeople hope for a fight between Thornton and Danaher. However, Thornton refuses to fight. He suffers the guilt of a terrible secret concerning his last prize fight, which only the Reverend Playfair knows. As tensions grow, Father Lonergan counsels Mary Kate about her duties as a married woman, as Reverend Playfair councils Sean about what the dowry means to his wife. Although Mary Kate acquiesces, she feels that the dowerless marriage is improper and leaves Sean. To Sean, this is the last straw. He goes to the train station, literally drags his wife back to Squire Danaher's farm, collecting a very large crowd along the way, as the neighboring towns realize that Sean is about to confront Will Danaher and demands Mary Kate's dowry. Danaher refuses to pay the dowry, so Sean calls off the marriage - claiming that the dowry is their custom, not his. Shamed in front of the whole county, Danaher gives up the dowry (350 pounds cash). To further prove a point Sean stalks over to the nearby threshing furnace, where Mary Kate open the door for Sean to throw the money into the fire. This infuriates Danaher and he takes a swing at Sean, who defends himself. Mary Kate sees that her husband is willing to fight and heads home to cook dinner. For the rest of nearby residents of Innesfree, farmhands, the train engineers and passengers who've stayed for the event, the long awaited fight breaks out - starting at Danaher's farm and heading into Innesfree. During this Sean learns Danaher is, indeed, a worthy opponent. Many a side bets are laid - including Reverend Playfair, the visiting Bishop, and the local constabulary. By the end, the two men respect each other and have become fast (if drunken) friends. After the fight, the town gathers together to also help save Reverend Playfair's job and Will Danaher starts formally courting the Widow Tellane.

A despised cavalry commander is unfairly blamed by his troop for the death of a popular officer and must redeem himself in front of his men during an Indian attack on the fort. Capt. Richard Lance is unjustly held responsible, by his men and girlfriend, for an Indian massacre death of beloved Lt. Holloway. Holloway is killed while escorting a dangerous Indian chief to another fort's prison. The chief escapes. Knowing their fort is in danger of Indian attack, Lance takes a small group of army misfits to an abandoned nearby army fort to defend a mountain pass against the oncoming Indian assault. Their mission is to stall for time until reinforcements from another fort arrive. The men in this small group of malcontents, deserters, psychopaths and cowards all hate Capt. Lance and wish him dead. Much to their chagrin, the men recognize that Lance's survival instincts, military knowledge and leadership are the only chance the group has of staying alive. —E.W. DesMarais <jlongst@aol.com>

In this Western, the James and Younger boys ride the outlaw trail again all because of a mean Union Army Major.

Remake of the movie "Broadway Bill" (1934)

In 1871 Dakota, two crooked businessmen oppose the local wheat farmers and the railroad development to control the town of Fargo. In 1871, professional gambler John Devlin elopes with Sandra "Sandy" Poli, daughter of Marko Poli, an immigrant who has risen to railroad tycoon. Sandy, knowing that the railroad is to be extended into Dakota, plans to use their $20,000 nest egg to buy land options to sell to the railroad at a profit. On the stage trip to Ft. Abercrombie, their fellow passengers are Jim Bender and Bigtree Collins, who practically own the town of Fargo, and Devlin is aware that they are prepared to protect the little empire: trying to drive out the farmers by burning their property, destroying their wheat, and blaming the devastation on the Indians. Continuing their journey north on the river aboard the "River Bird', Sandy and John meet irascible old seafarer Captain Bounce. Two of Bender's henchmen, Slagin and Carp, board the boat and relieve John of his $20,000 at gunpoint. Captain Bounce, chasing the robber's dinghy, wrecks his boat on a sandbar. At Fargo, the land wars begin and John teams with the wheat farmers against the Bender gang. Several attempts are made on his life and Collins tries to frame him for murder. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net> John Devlin helps Dakota wheat farmers save their land from swindling entrepeneurs who hope to make a fortune selling it to the railroad for its right-of-way. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

As bare-knuckled boxing enters the modern era, brash extrovert, Jim Corbett, uses new rules and dazzlingly innovative footwork to rise to the top of the top of the boxing world. Because boxing is a considered an illegal and disreputable enterprise in 1880's San Francisco, wealthy and influential members of the prestigious Olympic Club vow to make the sport a "gentlemanly" one. They sponsor a brash, extroverted young bank clerk named Jim Corbett, who quickly becomes an accomplished fighter under the new Marquis of Queensbury Rules. Despite his success, the young Irish-American's social pretensions and boastful manner soon estrange him from his benefactors, who plot to give their conceited former protégé a well-deserved comeuppance. Despite this, his dazzlingly innovative footwork helps him to beat a succession of bigger and stronger men, and he finally finds himself fighting for the world's championship against his childhood idol, John L. Sullivan. —duke1029 The biography of famed boxer James J. "Gentleman Jim" Corbett, the colorful Irish-American fighter who became the first heavyweight champion of the world under the new Marquis of Queensberry rules. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Private detective Sam Spade gets involved with a band of international thieves who lie, double cross and commit murder for a jewel-encrusted statue known as The Maltese Falcon.

A naive young doctor, in a misguided effort to impress a young woman, finds himself in over his head when a gangster client demands plastic surgery to achieve the perfect disguise. Dr. Ralph Snyder and Dr. Frank Blake open an office together but soon split over a rivalry for nightclub singer Diana Wayne and a difference over ethics. In an effort to make some quick money and marry Diana, Blake becomes a retainer for gangster Joe Grant while the upright (and uptight) Sawyer becomes a medical examiner in the district attorney's office. Grant is involved in a murder and forces Blake to remove an identifying scar, thereby proving that all gangsters should keep a doctor on retainment. But Blake has a change of heart and shows up at Grant's trial, spills the beans and Grant is convicted. Consequently, Blake loses his license, Diana and then his life, proving that the "do-tell' doctor should have heeded the film title. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Joaquin Shannon arrives home from a cruise on his fishing boat. His first mate, Charles Nelson, is to marry Shannon's sister the next day. Nelson gets drunk and Shannon finds him near the unconscious body of a man that he, Shannon, had been fighting with previously. The man dies and Shannon takes the blame and goes to prison. There he gets into trouble instigated by "Big Red" Kincaid and is denied a parole. He stops a prison break and get a parole. Not able to get work, he takes a job with a former convict on a fishing boat. Kincaid, who has shot a guard and escaped and vowing vengeance on Shannon, shows up. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net> A fisherman confesses to a murder he didn't commit in order to protect a good friend, whom he believes did commit it. Once in prison he determines to keep out of trouble and win his parole, but a tough convict is just as determined to make things difficult for him. —frankfob2@yahoo.com

Runyonesque crooks on the lam hide out on blind man's pastoral farm and decide to go straight. A group of criminals on the run hide out in an abandoned farmhouse. They find themselves being "looked after" by a friendly dog, and soon afterwards they meet up with a blind man and his young daughter, and they begin to rethink the direction their life has been taking them. —frankfob2@yahoo.com Naive Pennsylvanian Nick Allen comes to the aid of gangster's moll Jo Elliot when she's accosted on the street, and is shot for his troubles. As a result of his gallantry, he becomes innocently involved with the notorious Capper Regan gang. When Runyonesque gang members Spudsy and Red take it on the lam with moll Jo, Nick goes along. Car troubles force the quartet to stay at a farmhouse owned by blind man Pop Adams, and in the weeks that follow they realize that this pastoral lifestyle is much more rewarding than their previous criminal careers. Additionally, Nick falls in love with Adams' daughter Linda while Jo romances the local mayor. A rehabilitated Red and Spudsy resist returning to their old life and vow to go straight after a short prison term, and after Nick captures Capper for police, he happily returns to Linda and the farm —Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)