Valdez Is Coming

Aging town constable Bob Valdez is manipulated by powerful rancher Frank Tanner into killing an innocent man. Tanner's hired gun, R. L. Davis, shoots up the hovel where the wrongly accused man and his Indian wife are trapped. The act triggers a dangerous power play that propels Valdez toward seeking justice for the widow.

Valdez believes it would be a fair gesture to raise $200 for the widow of the man who was killed: $100 from Tanner and the rest from others in town. He voices this plan publicly, challenging Tanner's influence. The move tests the community's willingness to stand up to the rancher's power.

Tanner orders ranch hand El Segundo and his men to tie Valdez to a heavy wooden cross and drive him into the desert. The cross is so long he must walk bent over as he is pushed toward the barren sands. When the oasis-blocked path finally breaks the cross, jagged ends pierce into Valdez's back.

Davis finds the wounded Valdez and cuts the ropes, freeing him. Valdez crawls to Diego's ranch, where the rancher Diego nurses him back to health. The recovery rekindles Valdez's resolve to confront Tanner.

Valdez dons his old cavalry uniform and sends a message to Tanner via one of the wounded men: 'Valdez is coming.' The message signals that he is ready to confront Tanner directly and marks a turning point from retreat to retaliation.

Valdez sneaks into the ranch compound during a gun battle and kidnaps Gay Erin, Tanner's woman who is rumored to have him killed her husband for his favors. She becomes a captive as Valdez sets about his one-man vendetta against Tanner's men. The act also makes Gay Erin a key figure in the escalating conflict.

From his hostage vantage, Valdez uses his Sharps rifle to wipe out Tanner's men one by one. The only one he shows mercy to is Davis, after the gunman screams, 'I cut you loose! I cut you loose!' and reveals that the cut on Valdez's left wrist was caused by a slipping knife while he freed himself.

While hiding from Tanner's posse, Valdez confronts Gay Erin and she finally admits that she killed her own husband to be with Tanner, not the other way around. Valdez uses this revelation to decide whether to spare or free her. He ultimately sets her free, and she becomes sympathetic to his cause.

Valdez is surrounded and captured as Tanner's men advance. Tanner orders his men to shoot, but Davis refuses to fire, and El Segundo cautions his men to stand down. The standoff reveals the conflicting codes among the antagonist forces.

Tanner faces Valdez one-on-one and proves to be a coward, unable to deliver the killing blow. Valdez delivers his own quip, 'I should have killed you three days ago,' then adds, 'Or paid the $100.' The exchange crowns Valdez's moral victory even as the immediate danger ends.

Gay Erin makes it clear she will not return to Tanner, severing the arrangement that set the chain of murders in motion. The defection underscores the cruelty of Tanner's influence and cements the shift in loyalties.