Dr Joe Frail (Gary Cooper in his last western film), trying to forget an unhappy past, drifts from town to town until in the mid-1870s he sets up practice in Skull Creek, a wild Montana gold mining camp.
Grubb (George C. Scott), the local preacher and phoney faith-healer, takes exception to the loss of business but finds Frail can use a gun as well as a scalpel.
But the worthy doctor hits trouble when he saves the life of a boy called Rune (Ben Piazza) who has stolen gold – a crime which could lead to death under “the hanging tree”.
Dr Joseph ‘Doc’ Frail
Gary Cooper Elizabeth Mahler
Maria Schell Frenchy Plante
Karl Malden George Grubb
George C. Scott Tom Flaunce
Karl Swenson Edna Flaunce
Virginia Gregg Society Red
John Dierkes Wonder
King Donovan Rune
Ben Piazza
Dr Joseph ‘Doc’ Frail
