The Moonlighter

The Moonlighter is a 1953 3D Western film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray.

Plot

Wes Anderson has been "moonlighting," rustling cattle. A lynch mob led by rancher Alex Prince hangs the wrong man. Wes escapes.

Rela, his former sweetheart, is now involved with Wes' younger brother Tom, who works in a bank. Tom has always admired Wes, who begins burning Prince's ranch and killing some of Prince's hands who lynched the innocent man.

Tom is fired at the Rio Hondo bank by Mott, his boss. Cole Gardner, an outlaw, persuades Wes to rob the bank, and Tom decides to join them. Rela angrily warns Wes that if any harm comes to Tom, she will hold him responsible.

During the robbery, Wes and Cole get away with the money but Tom is shot by his former boss. A posse is formed and Rela demands to be deputized. Cole double-crosses his partner, taking the money and leaving Wes tied up. When he encounters Rela on the trail, she shoots Cole and then finds Wes, taking him prisoner.

On the way back to town, Rela slips and nearly drowns. Wes saves her life. Ashamed of his ways, Wes offers to ride back to town alongside Rela to turn himself in to the law and accept his fate.

Cast

• Barbara Stanwyck as Rela
• Fred MacMurray as Wes Anderson
• Ward Bond as Cole Gardner
• William Ching as Tom Anderson
• John Dierkes as Sheriff Daws
• Morris Ankrum as Alexander Prince
• Jack Elam as Slim, Strawboss
• Charles Halton as Clemmons Usqubaugh - Undertaker
• Norman Leavitt as Tidy
• Sam Flint as Mr. Mott, Bank President
• Myra Marsh as Mrs. Anderson
• William Kerwin as Tony
• Tom Keene as Sheriff (credited as Richard Powers)

References

External links

• The Moonlighter at the TCM Movie Database
• The Moonlighter at the Internet Movie Database