Terrorizing 1866 Indiana, the Reno brothers gang uses the town of Seymour as a safe haven, paying off three crooked town officials. Sent in to clean up the gang is Peterson Detective Agency operative James Barlow, who poses as an outlaw to gain the confidence of the officials and the thick-headed brothers. Complicating matters are Barlow's feelings for the Reno sister, Laura, who reluctantly keeps house for the boys out of family loyalty. Events heat up and rage surfaces as Barlow sets up the gang in a dawn train robbery. Sheltered in their sister Laura's farmhouse, the notorious band of outlaws, the Reno Brothers, terrorise the Indiana countryside, in 1866. By bribing the local officials and the corrupt judge, the brothers have the nearby town of Seymour under their thumb, however, it is not before long when someone kills a secret operative. As a result, James Barlow, a former Southern spy, agrees to infiltrate the gang by posing as a hardened train robber to bring the Renos to justice, but what Barlow couldn't foresee is that his feelings for the feisty Laura will threaten his plans for a setup at dawn. In the end, can a single man end the Reno Brothers' reign? Rather flat movie, which never slows down, something quite remarkable for a 50's movie. In my opinion, it never comes to a real point…probably because there's no real 'bad' villain in it. It is more than twenty minutes into the movie before its star Randolph Scott makes his appearance and his lean craggy presence gives a decided lift to proceedings .He plays an undercover agent sent to pose as a train robber and infiltrate the Reno brothers gang who -aided by corrupt local officials -are wreaking havoc in Indiana .He then persuades the gang to embark on a train robbery with a view to entrapping them . The script is by the cult pulp crime novelist Horace McCoy and is based on a story by another feted pulpster ,Frank Gruber, and it is slick and efficient with solid performance from a sturdy supporting cast which includes dependable performers like Forrest Tucker ,and J Carroll Naish as two of the Reno brothers Handsome photography and the brisk direction of Tim Whelan are distinct assets and the historically accurate finale ends proceedings on a gritty and powerful note as frontier justice takes over from the rule of law .<br/><br/>A good little movie which Western devotees will like
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