The Bounty Hunter

The Bounty Hunter is a 1954 American western film directed by Andre DeToth and starring Randolph Scott, Marie Windsor and Dolores Dorn. It was the last of six Randolph Scott westerns with DeToth and the first film to feature a bounty hunter as its hero. It was released by Warner Bros. It was filmed in 3-D but released in standard format, though a 3-D print exists in the Warner archives. Stock footage from the 1952 film Carson City is used at the beginning of the film. Portions of the film were shot on location in California at Red Rock Canyon and the Mojave Desert. Plot A prologue explains the role of the bounty hunter. A wanted criminal named Burch tries to ambush bounty hunter Jim Kipp, but Kipp gets the better of him. Kipp takes Burch's corpse into town to collect the reward. A representative of the Pinkerton Detective Agency asks Kipp to hunt a trio of fugitives. Three masked men committed a robbery and fled with $100,000. Kipp, who has the reputation that he will do anything for money, is offered a huge reward if he can capture the culprits dead or alive. Kipp rides into the town of Twin Forks, and uses an alias. He seeks information about one fugitive's wounds from Dr. Spencer, who is wary of revealing too much. Kipp is immediately attracted to the doctor's daughter, Julie. A limping man named Bill Rachin, who works at the hotel, draws Kipp's suspicion. So does George Williams, a card dealer. Williams' wife, Alice, flirts with Kipp and tries to coax information out of him. Kipp does not reveal the purpose for his visit. Vance Edwards identifies Kipp and his reputation as a bounty hunter. Edwards mistakenly believes Kipp is seeking him for another crime. The townspeople become anxious as the truth about Kipp becomes known. Led by the postmaster, Danvers, they offer Kipp a bribe to leave town. Kipp tells several people that he is expecting a package on the next day's stagecoach and in the package is a likeness of one of the robbers. Dr. Spencer later overhears Kipp telling his daughter the same thing and he becomes worried.