While J. D. Cahill (John Wayne), a widower and U.S. Marshal, is away from home, his two sons Danny (Gary Grimes) and Billy (Clay O'Brien) aid Abe Fraser (George Kennedy) and his gang to escape temporarily from jail and to rob a bank. The town's sheriff is shot and killed and another townsfolk is knifed and killed during the robbery. Billy hides the stolen money while his brother and the rest of the gang return to their jail cells as an alibi.
When Cahill returns, he and Danny look for the perpetrators with the help of half-Comanche tracker Lightfoot (Neville Brand). Cahill arrests four suspects and although they are innocent of the town bank robbery, they are found guilty and scheduled to be hanged. While on the trail of the kids, Cahill and Lightfoot are ambushed by Brownie (Dan Vadis).
Lightfoot hurts Brownie but is eventually killed. Cahill's sons try to give the gang's share of the money to Fraser, Frasier however wants all the money and prepares to kill them when he is shot by Cahill who used his sons to lure Frasier out into the open. The Cahill's reconcile and leave for town to stop the hangings of the initial suspects.
The film was produced by John Wayne's production company Batjac Productions and shot on location in Durango, Mexico.[5]
Reception
In a 1975 interview with writer Tony Macklin for Film Heritage, Wayne said the film had "a good theme" but "wasn't a well-done picture" because it "needed better writing" and "a little more care in the making."[6]
