After escaping from a New Mexico jail, Billy the Kid meets his pal, Fuzzy Jones, in the town of Corral City, Texas. At the Corral City saloon, Billy is recognized by Dave and Flash, members of a gang of outlaws operating out of the Lazy A Ranch, as the rider who held them up after they had robbed the express wagon. Outside the saloon, Billy is ambushed and wounded by other members of the gang. With the help of Jim Morgan, one Corral City’s leading citizens, Fuzzy takes his wounded friend to the express office, where Mary Morgan, the local agent, agrees to nurse him until the doctor arrives. When Jim delivers Billy’s saddlebags filled with the stolen money, Billy explains that he saw the robbery and then robbed the robbers. Impressed with Billy’s daring, Jim appoints him sheriff and makes Fuzzy his deputy. Billy’s first official act is to post signs ordering visitors to check their guns outside of town, and when Dave is beaten for tearing down one of the signs, he vows revenge and sends for gunfighter Gil Cooper to take care of Billy. As Billy enters the saloon for a showdown with the gunfighter, he recognizes Gil as his brother, and after urging Gil to go straight, lets him escape. Gil then rides to an old line shack, where Dave and Flash, who have learned of his relationship to Billy, detain him. Meanwhile, back in town, Mary finds an old wanted poster of Billy hidden in the back of her desk drawer. Jim, still unaware of Billy’s identity, confides that the mine payroll is on the next express wagon and that Mary will lose her job if it is stolen. In an effort to find the outlaws and stop the robbery, Billy and Fuzzy ride to the cabin and are captured by Dave and Flash. In the ensuing struggle, Billy, Fuzzy and Gil escape and Billy decides to hold up the wagon himself and turn over the money to Mary. Back in town, Mary shows Jim the wanted poster, prompting him to assemble a posse to guard the payroll. As Billy proceeds with his plan, he is ambushed by the Lazy A gang and arrested by the sheriff. Just as Fuzzy and Gil break him out of jail, a terrific blast is heard from the sheriff’s office where the Lazy A men have blown open the safe. Billy and Fuzzy pursue the outlaws, and after recovering the money, ride off into the sunset, leaving Gil behind as the new sheriff. More on Wikipedia or Mubi
Watch Billy the Kid in Texas (1940)
