Legion of the Lawless

George O'Brien's first 1940 western release, Legion of the Lawless uses its frontier trappings for a plea against vigilante justice-specifically, lynching. A group of masked night riders terrorize the homesteaders in the 19th century village of Iveston, all the while insisting that they're merely bringing law and order to the territory. Lawyer O'Brien thinks otherwise, and soon he's championing the cause of the beleaguered villagers.