Marshal of Madrid, The

Madrid County, Texas, is a raw, uncivilized place, where residents would just as soon shoot you as look at you.

Only Marshal Sam Cade (Glenn Ford) can keep the lid on the fires that threaten to ignite everyday.

First, he is called to the site of an armored car robbery, where the shaken driver swears he was held up by a bazooka-toting horseback rider. Next, a man who believes he’s Billy The Kid wants a high-noon shootout with the law. Then it’s on to a racially motivated murder that ultimately leads Cade on a life-or-death race toward the border in search of much bigger prey.

Director Richard Donner (the Lethal Weapon series) shows his fine feel for action and suspense in this early venture. There’s plenty of bar-brawling, pistol-toting action in Madrid County, and Donner and Ford capture it all with flair.