Flame of the West

Physician John Poore arrives in Trail Forks on the same day that trail-weary cowboys anxious for fun are to descend on the town. Although Abbie Compton, the daughter of the town's founding father, warns the soft-spoken John that Trail Forks is a rough place, dominated by unscrupulous saloon owner Hart Wisdon, John insists that he has no need for guns. That night, as cowboys from Bill Knott's outfit celebrate the completion of their cattle drive at Wisdon's Bullhead Saloon, John is called to deliver a baby. The baby is born healthy, but the mother's condition worries John, particularly as the father, cowboy Jack Midland, is absent. Unknown to John, Midland is at the Bullhead, having been cajoled into gambling by Rocky Boyes, one of Wisdon's cohorts. Soon after, John, who has explained to Add Youmans, the town's veterinarian, that he only uses the brace of Colt .45s he owns for target shooting because he once killed "the wrong man," hears gunshots emanating from the Bullhead and rushes to the scene. John finds Midland dead, having been shot by Rocky, whom Midland had accused of cheating. When John explains to Poppy Rand, a singer and Wisdon's partner, that Midland's wife just gave birth, the guilt-ridden Poppy takes up a collection for her. The next day, John attends a Citizens Committee meeting, headed by Abbie's father Carl, who announces that he has hired notorious gunslinger Tom Nightlander to "clean up" Trail Forks. Although John expresses concern about the move, he accepts Carl's decision without argument. John's apparent passivity annoys Abbie, who is otherwise attracted to the doctor. After Bill questions John about Midland's death, Slick Peters, Wisdon's crooked faro dealer, tries to force John to discuss the conversation at gunpoint, but John refuses and knocks Slick to the ground. Later, while target shooting, John meets Tom heading into Trail Forks, and the two take turns showing off their marksmanship. In town, meanwhile, Poppy, who was once romantically involved with Tom, anxiously awaits his arrival. Tom, however, ignores Poppy and instead visits Abbie. To force Tom to see her, Poppy provokes a fight at the Bullhead. Tom, who has already issued an ordinance requiring that all Trail Forks visitors check their guns, arrives just as Slick fires a shot, but quickly diffuses the situation. Tom then demands that Wisdon pay a $1,000 fine. That night, Tom goes to Poppy's house and, after giving her half of the fine proceeds, demands that she leave town. Later, Tom is in John's office when a woman rushes in with Mrs. Midland's baby, declaring that Mrs. Midland is dying. John asks Tom to take the baby to Abbie while he tends to Mrs. Midland, but Tom instead entrusts the infant to a startled Poppy. Soon after, at the Bullhead, two cowboys, Red and Toby, refuse to check their guns, and Wisdon, believing that they are tough enough to beat Tom, sends for the marshal. Tom easily outdraws the men, however, and sentences them to sixty days in jail. Weeks later, Tom announces to Carl that he is closing down the Bullhead because he suspects that Wisdon tried to kill Bill, who had ordered his men not to frequent the saloon. John, meanwhile, proposes to Abbie, but still feeling that he is a coward, she turns him down. Having been warned about the shut-down, Wisdon rallies his men to confront Tom when he arrives at the saloon. Wisdon even tries to recruit the just-released Red and Toby to seek revenge against Tom, but the cowboys refuse to harm the marshal, who secured jobs for them while they were incarcerated. Aware of Wisdon's trap, Poppy, meanwhile, tries unsuccessfully to persuade Tom not to go to the Bullhead, then begs Abbie to ask John to intercede, revealing for the first time that she and Tom are married. John tells Poppy, who since adopting the Midland baby has severed all ties to Wisdon, that Tom cannot be stopped. As feared, Tom is wounded mortally while serving notice at the Bullhead, but before dying, he instructs John to find someone to finish the job. Arming himself with his Colts, John takes Tom's notice to the Bullhead and, in a flash, outdraws Wisdon and all of his men. With his job done, John puts his guns away and, after accepting Abbie's apology, allows her to accompany him on his next call, noting that she will have to "get used to it."