***SPOILERS*** It's when Lonnnie Wilson, Ken Scott, shows up that things start getting really interesting and dangerous in the quite little town of Clinton Louisiana. Lonnie had spent the last six years on a Louisiana chain gang for running down and killing little 10 year old Davie Marquard in a drunk driving accident. As we soon find out it wasn't Lonnie who was behind the wheel of the car that ran Davie down but his girlfriend Melinda Marquard, Martha Hyer, Davie's big sister! So why did the totally innocent Lonnie Wilson take the rap for a crime that he didn't commit?
The truth surrounding the circumstances of Davie's tragic death slowly comes out in bits and pieces and it boils down to this. To prevent Melinda from being charged in her kid brother's death Lonnie was encouraged by her pop big shot in town Col.Ben Marquard,Raymond Burr, to take the rap for her! Now with the Colonel planning to run for governor of the great state of Louisiana the last thing he wants is for Lonnie to hurt his chances of becoming the chief executive of the state. And it's his daughter Melinda, whom Lonnie was in love with and took to rap for, by her marrying Dr. Ned Thomas, Brett Halsey, that may well be the reason for Col. Ben's campaign for governor to go down in flames before it even begins!
Raymond Burr who took time off from his popular Perry Mason TV show to be in the film plays such a sleazy corrupt and unethical person in Col. Ben that even Perry Mason couldn't keep him from getting convicted. It's Col.Ben's rotten to the core daughter who proves the phrase "That the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" to be true in taking after her pop in how she treats her former lover Lonnie Wilson as well as her now husband Dr. Ned Thomas. Both men are manipulated by Melinda to the point where they, by the time the film is even over, almost end up murdering each other!
As for Col. Ben's mentally destroyed wife Mrs. Marquard, Joan Bennett, she still believes that little Davie is alive despite witnessing him being killed and is encouraged into believing that by her husband Col. Ben. That instead of getting the poor woman help in being treated for her severe mental depression! It's Lonnie as usual who gets the short end of the stick in the movie by being dumped by Milanda and at the same time set him up, after she gets caught making out with him, in getting Lonnie murdered by her outraged husband Dr. Thomas.
***SPOILERS*** It's the crusading newspaper owner of the towns Clinton Press Luke Connett, Edward Binns, who comes to Lonnie's rescue before he ended up shot by a posse lead Sheriff Wheaton, Kelly Thordsen, one of Col. Ben's paid off stooges. That's in Luke in getting Lonnie off-while he's on the lamb form the law-on a phony attempted rape charge by you guessed it Milinda Marquard. This has Lonnie, who also ended up getting shot by Milinda, to open up and spill the beans on Col. Ben's covering up his daughter's involvement in Davie's death. By the Colonel having Lonnie unwittingly, by being promised that Milinda would be waiting for him after he finishes his sentence, tricked into taking the rap for it!
In the end Col.Ben's plans to become governor of Louisiana fall by the wayside and worst of all his wimpy son Peter, Jack Ging, whom the Colonel treats with absolute contempt finally lets him have it by telling him what a low down and dirty rat he really is! Peter ends up walking out on his tyrannical pop in order to marry Lonnie's kid sister Cass, Anne Helms, whom the by now completely discredited Colonel was dead set against him doing!
The truth surrounding the circumstances of Davie's tragic death slowly comes out in bits and pieces and it boils down to this. To prevent Melinda from being charged in her kid brother's death Lonnie was encouraged by her pop big shot in town Col.Ben Marquard,Raymond Burr, to take the rap for her! Now with the Colonel planning to run for governor of the great state of Louisiana the last thing he wants is for Lonnie to hurt his chances of becoming the chief executive of the state. And it's his daughter Melinda, whom Lonnie was in love with and took to rap for, by her marrying Dr. Ned Thomas, Brett Halsey, that may well be the reason for Col. Ben's campaign for governor to go down in flames before it even begins!
Raymond Burr who took time off from his popular Perry Mason TV show to be in the film plays such a sleazy corrupt and unethical person in Col. Ben that even Perry Mason couldn't keep him from getting convicted. It's Col.Ben's rotten to the core daughter who proves the phrase "That the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" to be true in taking after her pop in how she treats her former lover Lonnie Wilson as well as her now husband Dr. Ned Thomas. Both men are manipulated by Melinda to the point where they, by the time the film is even over, almost end up murdering each other!
As for Col. Ben's mentally destroyed wife Mrs. Marquard, Joan Bennett, she still believes that little Davie is alive despite witnessing him being killed and is encouraged into believing that by her husband Col. Ben. That instead of getting the poor woman help in being treated for her severe mental depression! It's Lonnie as usual who gets the short end of the stick in the movie by being dumped by Milanda and at the same time set him up, after she gets caught making out with him, in getting Lonnie murdered by her outraged husband Dr. Thomas.
***SPOILERS*** It's the crusading newspaper owner of the towns Clinton Press Luke Connett, Edward Binns, who comes to Lonnie's rescue before he ended up shot by a posse lead Sheriff Wheaton, Kelly Thordsen, one of Col. Ben's paid off stooges. That's in Luke in getting Lonnie off-while he's on the lamb form the law-on a phony attempted rape charge by you guessed it Milinda Marquard. This has Lonnie, who also ended up getting shot by Milinda, to open up and spill the beans on Col. Ben's covering up his daughter's involvement in Davie's death. By the Colonel having Lonnie unwittingly, by being promised that Milinda would be waiting for him after he finishes his sentence, tricked into taking the rap for it!
In the end Col.Ben's plans to become governor of Louisiana fall by the wayside and worst of all his wimpy son Peter, Jack Ging, whom the Colonel treats with absolute contempt finally lets him have it by telling him what a low down and dirty rat he really is! Peter ends up walking out on his tyrannical pop in order to marry Lonnie's kid sister Cass, Anne Helms, whom the by now completely discredited Colonel was dead set against him doing!