A pistol-packing tomboy and her grandfather discover a band of bank robbing bandits taking refuge in the neighboring ghost town.
A band of bank robbers on the run from a posse flee into the desert. Near death from lack of water they stumble into what appears to be a ghost town, only to discover an old prospector and his granddaughter living there. The robbers discover that the old man has been mining gold and set out to make a quick fortune by robbing the pair. Their plan runs foul when the gang leader, Stretch, falls for the granddaughter, which sets off a showdown between the entire gang.—E.W. DesMarais <[email protected]>
In 1867, in the West, the gang of bank robbers led by James "Stretch" Dawson and formed by Dude, Bull Run, Lengthy, Half Pint, Walrus and Jed flee after robbing a bank. However, they are hunted down by the cavalry and Jed is killed. They decide to cross desert and the soldiers stop chasing them. They arrive dehydrated and almost dead at a ghost town called Yellow Sky but a young woman called Constance "Mike" Mae shows the location of a spring. Soon they recover and learn that Mike lives alone with her grandfather Charles Kemper in a house nearby the ghost town. But Dude snoops around at the area and finds prospecting tools near the house. He suspects that Mike and her grandfather could have gold hidden somewhere in the house. The outlaws press Mike and her grandfather and they make a deal with Stretch that promises to take only half the gold. But greed and lust split the gang and Stretch, who has fallen in love with Mike, has to take a decision and choose a side.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Yellow Sky begins with a gang of outlaws led by Stretch (Gregory Peck), who are attempting to rob a bank. When the heist goes horribly wrong, the gang is forced to run. Stretch suggests travelling across the desert, which the rest of the gang reluctantly agrees to.
After much wandering, the gang finally arrives at a small ghost town named "Yellow Sky" where they decide to stay temporarily. Unfotunately, they are unexpectedly greeted by "Mike" (Anne Baxter), a tough young woman who does not take their presence lightly. Eventually, she relents and allows them to remain, and they find out she is the daughter of a prosepector.
One of the gang members, Dude (Richard Widmark), soon begins to suspect the possibility that the prospector is hiding gold, and begins leading his men to the belief that they should find it and take it for themselves. Stretch objects, but is unable to pursuade his gang otherwise.
Eventually, things get out of control, and a huge showdown occurs in which all but two of Stretch's gang are killed. The surviving members of the gang finally reconcile and decide to reform themselves.
Stretch returns to the bank a few days later, seemingly committing another hold-up, only to return the money that he had taken. He returns to Yellow Sky where he joins Mike, the prospector, and the two remaining outlaws as they ride away.