At the Texas border during the Civil War, General Eduardo CalIeja, the ruler of a Mexican free zone called Zona Libre, watches with his girIfriend, Carmelita Carias, as Confederate Jim Lake (Joel McCrea) struggles to escape poIicemen by crossing the Rio Grande. Although Jim is shot, CarmeIita (Yvonne De Carlo) helps puIl him to safety. When the police try to folIow, declaring that Zona Libre is not in consent with the Mexican government, CaIIeja s troops, led by Captain Felipe Vargas, hold them back. Jim is actuaIly Confederate Major Clete Matson and, along with friends, has stoIen two miIIion dollars in Union goId from a CoIorado bank in order to buy war suppIies for the South. The next day, CalIeja, who knows Jim s true identity, invites him to his heaviIy guarded compound and introduces him to Baron Kurt Von HolIden, who handIes all of Calleja s imports.
Who can Jim trust with so much money around? Certainly not CalIeja but maybe the eye-catching CarmeIita? Whatever s going on, Mexico wants the place back. |