"Two Gun Marshal" director Frank McDonald, who helmed as many as 1oo B-movies as well as television shows, conjures up little momentum in this saddle-sore horse opera about an old West range feud over water rights. The Tom Hubbard & Fred Eggers' screenplay boasts many examples of memorable dialogue, but their adaptation of a Louis L'Amour story lacks a single startling surprise. Aside from this and the dialogue, they do incorporate some foreshadowing so that we are familiar with the characters. Despite all its intrigue and treachery, "The Treasure of Ruby Hills" qualifies as predictable from fade-in to fade-out. Furthermore, you won't find many wide open spaces in this low-budget Allied Artists release. Primarily, the humdrum action unfolds in a couple of venerable western towns in 1877 with several durable veterans as well as at least one newcomer gunning for each other when they take the time to stop talking and start shooting. Timeless Media has released this forgettable frontier fare and given vintage villain Lee Van Cleef top billing on the DVD box, but the future star of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" landed only a minor role that consists of his appearance in two scenes. Naturally, Van Cleef is cast as an evil, gun-toting desperado. This 71-minute, black & white, horse opera stars former Warner Brothers contract player Zachary Scott as the son of a notorious outlaw. Just about everybody packs two, tied-down pistols in this law and order oater.
"The Treasure of Ruby Hills" opens ominously one dark night with Ross Haney (Zachary Scott of "Mildred Pierce") and Tom Hull (Steve Darrell of "The Monolith Monsters") as they wait in a shack for Haney's partner, Ben Carter, to return alone from filing a title at the Arlington Country Recorder's Office. Riding in quietly, Ben informs Haney that he filed the title and then Ben slumps headlong off his horse and lays dead. Haney and Hull discover that Ben has been shot in the back and they suspect a gunslinger named Frank Emmett (Lee Van Cleef) is responsible for his murder. Haney has second thoughts about his venture and Hull reminds him that Ben and he have been dreaming for five years about making this plan happen. They ride into the county seat and inform Marshal Garvey (Stanley Andrews of "The Paleface") about Ben's murder. Garvey believes them, but he has no use for either of them. He runs Hull out of town because he knows a gunslinger when he sees one, but he isn't altogether sure about Haney. "One nice thing about this country," Garvey observes, "a man doesn't have to live in the shadow of his father's reputation unless he wants to." In the ghost town of Silverton, Hull quits riding with Haney because Hull would only create trouble for his friend when they ride into Soledad, and Hull doesn't want to dodge bullets from gunmen looking to acquire a reputation. Earlier, Marshal Garvey reminded Tom that they amounted to relics. According to Garvey, the rule of the fastest gun was quickly vanishing from the old West, but the action contradicts the lawman. Haney leaves Hull and discovers a horse in the brush on the trail to Soledad. Haney meets its owner, Sherry Vernon (Carole Mathews of "Swing in the Saddle"), who has just finished swimming. Haney challenges Sherry to a horse race, and they rampage off into Soledad with Haney winning by more than a nose. Later, in the saloon, two-gun toting Robert Vernon (Rick Vallin of "Riding with Buffalo Bill") knocks down Haney and tells him that his sister wants to see him. You see no self-respecting woman would dare set foot in a saloon. Sherry pays Haney off for the horse racing wager. Haney decides to marry Sherry and informs her of his decision.
Eventually, the two competing cattle ranchers in the Ruby Hills Valley, Chalk Reynolds (Barton MacLane of "G-Men") and Walt Payne (Charles E. Fredericks of "Tarzan's Hidden Jungle"), are going to blast it out with each other. Meanwhile, scheming Alan Doran (former singing Warner Brothers cowboy Dick Foran) plans to eliminate them. He has paid Frank to work for Reynolds, while another gunman Jack Voyle (Gordon Jones of "The Green Hornet") works for Payne. Voyle has a reputation of shooting men in the back. Neither gunmen have any allegiance to either Reynolds or Payne and show their true colors. Before that happens, one of Reynolds' men, Rollie Burt (James Alexander of "Port of Hell"), shoots it out with a couple of Payne's men, catches a slug in the shoulder, and hides out. Saloon owner Westbrook 'Scotty' Scott (Raymond Hatton of "The Bad Man of Brimstone") convinces Haney that he has been help Burt out because one day our hero is going to need a man like Rollie Burt.
Later, Reynolds rides into Soledad with his crew to talk with Payne about Burt. Voyle guns Reynolds when Payne tries to discuss the situation with him. Moreover, Voyle plugs Payne. Doran convinces the remainder of Reynolds and Payne's crews to come to work for him. Meanwhile, Voyle is about to dispose of Reynolds and Payne when he catches Haney sneaking around in an alley. They get into a slugging fistfight. Voyle gets the drop on Haney, but Burt shoots Voyle. Haney and Burt clear out of Soledad before Doran and his outfit can find them. The final third of this oater has some violence.
Mustached Zachary Scott looks out of place as a leading man and he generates little charisma. "The Treasure of Ruby Hills" is tolerable and its catchy dialogue stands out. Otherwise, this doesn't emerge as a very exciting western.
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