Lyle Bettger is one of those stalwarts whose names probably mean nothing to most average filmgoers but who enjoy instant recognition on the screen
Bettger was far better knows as a blond, blue-eyed villain given to exuding pathological hated... His good looks worked for him in every determined effort, even as a menacing villain with a snickering charm...
Dana Andrews plays Marshal Johnny Reno, who used to be one of the top gunfighters
He just arrived with a prisoner called Joe Conners (Tom Drake) considered by the citizens of Stone Junction as a little Indian-killer
Of course the Mayor of the town Jess Yates (Buttger) assures the marshal that Conners will be given a fair trial and asked him to get out of the town fast
In spite of hearing that the lynch mob will be out there and one way or another they'll get Conners, the tough marshal tells everybody that his prisoner is in his protective custody and anybody who wants to get to him is going to have to step over his dead body
That day, the way it happenedbefore the Connors messReno was riding to see somebody he once knew, Nona Williams (Jane Russell). He knew the woman years before when he was the righteous lawman in the town where she lived
He has been wearing a badge ever since
Nona made a mistake and he couldn't forgive her
Lon Chaney Jr shows up as a sheriff who forgets that his job is law and order
Filmed in Technicolor and Panavision, "Johnny Reno" remains a tedious little Western worth a matinée
