Raton Pass is a curious western based on the rules of Community Property. Dennis Morgan and Patricia Neal portray a recently married husband and wife, each of whom owns half of a huge cattle ranch. Neal is a tad more ambitious than her husband, and with the help of a little legal chicanery she tries to obtain Morgan's half of the spread. He balks, so she hires a few gunslingers to press the issue. In a 1951 western, the greedy party usually came to a sorry end; Raton Pass adheres strictly to tradition.
Wes Anderson (Fred MacMurray) is caught cattle rustling and promptly jailed. The public is outraged, but, since Wes always worked at night, they don't know what he looks like. Still, they break into the prison and lynch a hobo they think is Wes, while the actual culprit sneaks off to see his old flame, Rela (Barbara Stanwyck), who has recently taken up with his straitlaced brother, Tom (William Ching). But Tom is envious of his outlaw brother, and he decides to join Wes in a life of crime.
The Cattlemen's Association has called in the Mesquiteers to find cattle rustlers. They get Tex Riley to pose as Stony so Stony can arrive posing as a wanted outlaw. This gets Stony into the gang of rustlers and he alerts Tucson and Lullaby as to the next raid. But Hartley is on hand and unknown to anyone is the rustler's boss and he joins the posse with a plan that will do away with the Mesquiteers.
When the Daltons are killed at Coffeyville, gang member Bill Doolin, arriving late, escapes but kills a man. Now wanted for murder, he becomes the leader of the Doolin gang. He eventually leaves the gang and tries to start a new life under a new name, but the old gang members appear and his true identity becomes known. Once again he becomes an outlaw trying to escape from the law.
Jonas Trapp falls in love with the beautiful Jessie, a wealthy girl out of his humble class. Against the wishes of her snobbish aunt, she marries him, later faking a pregnancy to win her aunt's consent. But Jonas tires of living off of his wife's family, and eventually deserts her to become a buffalo hunter. 11 years later, with his self-made fortune, he sets out to return home, only to be set upon by three sadistic marauders, who steal his money and leave him for dead. Rescued by a farmer who nurses him back to health, Jonas becomes consumed by the desire for revenge. As fate would have it, all three men live close to Jonas' former home. Matters quickly get worse when Jonas reunites with his wife, only to discover that she is now engaged to Renne.
James Arness rides again as Matt Dillon, the US Marshal he made popular in the 1955-75 TV series. In this movie he goes after a renegade Apache named Wolf (Joe Lara) who has taken his daughter captive. As a bargaining chip, Dillon helps two sons of Apache chief Geronimo out of the fort stockade and offers them in trade. Dillon is aided by an Army scout, Chalk Brighton (Kiley). Written by John Sacksteder
Four orphan boys running from the law in New York stumble upon a baby in a carriage. They decide to head west and take the baby which they name Mary Rose with them. Eventually they set up a ranch which they name Rose Hill. Mary Rose grows up to be a beautiful woman and gets involved with a man who kills one of her brothers. Her brothers then explain to her that they found her in New York and she returns to find her real family. During this time Rose Hill is falling apart since her oldest brother has fallen ill and her other two brothers have gone their separate ways.
Colonel Custer, an outspoken believer in fair treatment for the Indians, is ousted from his post and forced into retirement. Fueled by ambition when a Senator Blaine convinces him to run for President, Custer decides to upstage General Terry at Little Big Horn.
An aging lawman is convinced a mysterious stranger arrested in his small town is innocent. His investigation stirs up a hornet's nest that will change the town forever.
A psychotic killer has found a new hunting ground. A place where people frequently go missing so his murders can go un-noticed. The American frontier. The wild west has never been wilder as it encounters its first serial killer. A deranged psychopath slaughters his way through a mining town in the Sierra mountains. A law man is on his trail and is ready to serve justice. What he doesn’t know, is that this killer could be... Jack the Ripper.
A newly married gunfighter seeks a quiet life with his bride. When he kills a bandit in self-defense, he finds them both pulled back into his old ways. The corrupt mayor of their locale will not let his brother's death go unpunished.
During the Texas War of Independence of 1836 American frontiersman and pioneer Jim Bowie pleads for caution with the rebellious Texicans. They don't heed his advice since he's a Mexican citizen, married to the daughter of the Mexican vice-governor of the province and a friend to General Santa Anna since the days they had fought together for Mexico's independence. After serving as president for 22 years, Santa Anna has become too powerful and arrogant. He rules Mexico with an iron fist and he would not allow Texas to self-govern. Bowie sides with the Texans in their bid for independence and urges a cautious strategy, given Santa Anna's power and cunning. Despite the disagreement between the Texicans and Bowie regarding the right strategy they ask Bowie to lead them in a last-ditch stand, at Alamo, against General Santa Anna's numerically superior forces.
Having masterminded the hold up of his company office, a mining engineer is barred from the industry. He then sets up shop as an assayer, scheming to acquire a rich silver mine lease from its operators.