Blayde "Reb" Hollister is a former Confederate out to revenge himself on a group of carpetbaggers who murdered his family and destroyed their home in Georgia. With the help of his friend Wild Bill Hickok, Hollister's death is faked and he accompanies and swaps identities with Federal Marshal Martin Weatherby. Martin is an inexperienced dude from the Eastern United States, who is using the position of Marshal to impress his fiancée Tonia. Her Mexican family is being terrorized by the same gang that murdered Reb's family and terrorized Georgia. Hollister, posing as the dude Martin, protects both men and lets them get closer to the carpetbaggers.
According to Warner Bros' accounts, the film earned $2,765,000 domestically and $1,725,000 foreign.[1] The film received positive reviews from critics.
Novelization
Approximately concurrent with the release of the film and probably (in the tradition of the era) a month or two in advance, Gold Medal Books issued a novelization of the screenplay. Its prolific author, writing under his own name, Will F. Jenkins, would become and remain better known by his alternate by-line, Murray Leinster, under which he is considered one of the essential pioneers of the Golden Age of Science Fiction.
References
^ abcWarner Bros. financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p. 31 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
^'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
