The Hired Gun

Is fugitive Ellen Beldon (Anne Francis) really a murderer? Will professional gunman Gil McCord (Rory Calhoun) bring her back to Texas for the hangman's justice? This lean, taut Western thriller gradually reveals the truth behind the crime in a brisk 64 minutes, packing twists and turns a plenty. Rising star Francis had already stood out marvelously against the treacherous Cinemascope landscapes of Bad Day at Black Rock and Forbidden Planet, and she's a good match in these widescreen surroundings for costar/co-producer Calhoun, an old genre hand soon to embark on a two-season stint as TV's The Texan. Other future TV icons - Chuck Connors (The Rifleman) and Vince Edwards (Ben Casey) - play connivers out to stop McCord in his tracks - but neither are a match for The Hired Gun.