Tall in the Saddle

Tall in the Saddle is a 1944 American Western film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring John Wayne and Ella Raines. Written by Paul Fix and Michael Hogan, based on the serialized novel of the same name by Gordon Ray Young, the film is about a tough quiet cowboy who arrives at an Arizona town and discovers that the rancher who hired him has been murdered and that the kindhearted young woman who just inherited the ranch is being manipulated by her overbearing aunt and a scheming lawyer who are planning to steal her inheritance. As the cowboy investigates the ranchers murder, he meets the fiery horsewoman who owns a neighboring ranch and who challenges him at first, but eventually falls in love with him. With powerful forces opposed to his presence in the town, the cowboy survives attempts on his life as he gets closer to solving the murder with the help of two beautiful women.

A tough quiet cowboy named Rocklin John Wayne boards a stagecoach headed for the Arizona town of Santa Inez in the late 1800s. He takes a seat alongside the old cantankerous driver, Dave George Gabby Hayes, who enjoys giving his two women passengersoverbearing Miss Elizabeth Martin Elisabeth Risdon and her kindhearted niece Clara Cardell Audrey Longa rough ride through the mountain roads of the sage country. When they stop to rest the horses at a roadside inn, they meet Sheriff Jackson and Bob Clews from Santa Inez, who are investigating the theft of cattle. When Rocklin asks about Red Cardell, the owner of the stolen K.C. Ranch cattle, he learns that he is Claras great uncle and was recently murdered. A drunken Dave insults them and, pretending to be his friends, they take him to the barn for a short laydown. Later Rocklin discovers him unconscious after being pistolwhipped. Rocklin drives the stage the rest of the way to Santa Inez.After checking into the hotel, Rocklin is invited by the town lawyer Robert Garvey Ward Bond to join a poker game, during which Clint Harolday Russell Wade, the brash stepson of the owner of the Topaz Ranch, tries to play an illegal card and Rocklin stops him and declares himself the winner. Clint pulls a gun on Rocklin, who walks away from the table, goes to his room, and returns with his guns strapped to his hips and takes his winnings. The next day, Clints fiery sister Arly Ella Raines confronts Rocklin in the street, demanding he hand over her brothers winnings. Ignoring her, even as she fires her gun at him, Rocklin calmly walks away from the confrontation. ........

Source: Wikipedia