The Lawless Breed

Wild West gunslinger and gambler John Wesley Hardin (Rock Hudson) is pardoned and released from Huntsville, Texas prison in 1896, after serving 16 years of a 25-year sentence. He recounts his exploits outside the law (shown in Flashback (narrative)) with a manuscript detailing his life. The woman he planned to marry is killed, and he later marries a saloon girl (Julie Adams). On the run and using aliases, they begin a normal life, and have a son just before he is captured and sent to prison. His life as an outlaw influences his son, who grows up while Hardin served time, but on his release Hardin makes clear to the young man that a life of crime is no way to live.