"Three Hours to Kill" is a suspenseful little 77 minute revenge western with Dana Andrews playing Jim Guthrie a man who was wrongly lynched and returns to exact his revenge and find the real guilty party.
Jim Guthrie an embittered man returns to the scene of his lynching three years earlier for a murder he did not commit. He seeks out the members of the lynch mob whom he believes may be guilty. First there is bartender Sam Minor (James Westerfield), the barber Deke (Whit Bissell) to whom he recounts his story through a flashback.
The flashback begins at the town dance where Guthrie and his beloved Laurie Mastin (Donna Reed) are planning to marry the next day. Her possessive brother Carter (Richard Webb) violently opposes the union. He and Guthrie fight and Guthrie is knocked out. While unconscious, Carter is shot down in the back with Guthrie's gun. Deke discovers Guthrie standing over the corpse with the smoking gun in hand.
The results in an instant lynch mob. About to be hanged, Laurie intervenes and spooks the horse and buggy team holding Guthrie. As the team bolts, the hanging rope remains attached to Guthrie's neck and he sustains a serious rope burn on his neck. He manages to escape and flees.
Returning to the present, Guthrie identifies gambler Marty Nasswell (Laurence Hugo) and banker/rancher Niles Hendricks (Richard Coogan) as the other suspects in Carter Mastin's murder. Sheriff Ben East (Stephen Elliott) an old friend of Guthrie's sympathizes with him and gives him until sundown (Three Hours to Kill) to find the killer and then leave town.
Guthrie goes to Hendrick's ranch to seek him out discovers that Laurie has married Hendricks and that she has a son by Guthrie. Gutrhrie treis to reconcile with Laurie to no avail and leaves. Hendrick's returns and fearful for his life goes after Guthrie. The two meet and a well staged fight follows. Before Guthrie can exact his revenge, Deputy Vince (Francis McDonald) intervenes and arrests Guthrie who escapes en route.. Laurie goes top Sheriff East to beg him to go find her husband before he or Guthrie are killed. Rival for Guthrie's affections Chris Palmer (Dianne Foster) pleads with Laurie to pledge her love for Guthrie to avoid any killing.
The four suspects gather at Minor's saloon and Guthrie sneaks in through a back door to confront them. After grilling the suspects he learns the identity of the killer and.................................................................................
The ending is rather neat. After killing the real killer a mob forms and again demands that Guthrie be lynched but....................................................
A better than average little western.
Jim Guthrie an embittered man returns to the scene of his lynching three years earlier for a murder he did not commit. He seeks out the members of the lynch mob whom he believes may be guilty. First there is bartender Sam Minor (James Westerfield), the barber Deke (Whit Bissell) to whom he recounts his story through a flashback.
The flashback begins at the town dance where Guthrie and his beloved Laurie Mastin (Donna Reed) are planning to marry the next day. Her possessive brother Carter (Richard Webb) violently opposes the union. He and Guthrie fight and Guthrie is knocked out. While unconscious, Carter is shot down in the back with Guthrie's gun. Deke discovers Guthrie standing over the corpse with the smoking gun in hand.
The results in an instant lynch mob. About to be hanged, Laurie intervenes and spooks the horse and buggy team holding Guthrie. As the team bolts, the hanging rope remains attached to Guthrie's neck and he sustains a serious rope burn on his neck. He manages to escape and flees.
Returning to the present, Guthrie identifies gambler Marty Nasswell (Laurence Hugo) and banker/rancher Niles Hendricks (Richard Coogan) as the other suspects in Carter Mastin's murder. Sheriff Ben East (Stephen Elliott) an old friend of Guthrie's sympathizes with him and gives him until sundown (Three Hours to Kill) to find the killer and then leave town.
Guthrie goes to Hendrick's ranch to seek him out discovers that Laurie has married Hendricks and that she has a son by Guthrie. Gutrhrie treis to reconcile with Laurie to no avail and leaves. Hendrick's returns and fearful for his life goes after Guthrie. The two meet and a well staged fight follows. Before Guthrie can exact his revenge, Deputy Vince (Francis McDonald) intervenes and arrests Guthrie who escapes en route.. Laurie goes top Sheriff East to beg him to go find her husband before he or Guthrie are killed. Rival for Guthrie's affections Chris Palmer (Dianne Foster) pleads with Laurie to pledge her love for Guthrie to avoid any killing.
The four suspects gather at Minor's saloon and Guthrie sneaks in through a back door to confront them. After grilling the suspects he learns the identity of the killer and.................................................................................
The ending is rather neat. After killing the real killer a mob forms and again demands that Guthrie be lynched but....................................................
A better than average little western.