Trail of the Hawk

On her deathbed Jay Price's mother reveals that she concealed her son's real identity from him his entire life. His real name is Jack King and he is son of Jim King, a wealthy cattleman. Holding a locket which proves his true identity, he sets off for his father's ranch. On arrival, he loses the locket in a fight with Jeff Murdock, the foreman. Keeping his identity secret, he manages to get hired as a cowpuncher, in an effort to stay close to his father. When he learns that Murdock and his trigger-happy gunmen plan to rustle the entire King herd, Jack puts his life on the line in a desperate bid to stop them.

Trail of the Hawk was the directorial debut of Edward Dymtryk who went on to helm scores of fine films and blockbusters most notably Back To Bataan (1945), The Caine Mutiny (1954), The Young Lions (1958), Walk On The Wild Side (1952) and The Carpetbaggers (1964). With a reputation for performing his own stunts, expert horseman Dick Jones went on to star in his own hit TV series, "Buffalo Bill, Jr." in the 1950s.

• western