In a prologue, Wild Bill Hickok is assassinated during a poker game in which he holds two pair, aces and eights, which comes to be known in the West as the “death hand.” Gentleman gambler Tim Madigan is then introduced as Hickok’s successor. During a poker game, Madigan, a notorious cardsharp who does not carry a gun, accuses a fellow professional of cheating. Overhearing Madigan’s accusation, Jose Hernandez, a young Spaniard who had earlier lost heavily to the gambler, pulls his gun on the man, demanding his money. Although Madigan is nowhere in sight when the gambler is killed by a bullet emanating from a nearby tree, the marshal assumes Madigan’s guilt and goes after him. They meet at the state border, but Madigan outwits the marshal and crosses into freedom. Once in Roaring Gulch, California, Madigan meets Jose, who offers his father’s hacienda as a resting-place. There Madigan discovers that Don Juillo and his daughter Juanita are in danger of losing their property to gambler Ace Morgan and Amos Harden, the owner of the Gold Dollar saloon. By extending credit to Jose, they are plotting to drive Don Juillo into debt. Although Madigan has renounced gambling, he “borrows” the gold from the Hernandez coupa d’ore and wins the Gold Dollar from Harden with a hand of aces and eights, forcing him to relinquish Jose’s debts. Morgan tries to take the ranch by force, but Madigan arrives with the money. They are fighting when the marshal arrives and proves that it was a bullet from Morgan’s gun that killed the gambler. Finally, Madigan and Jose are cleared, Lucky, Madigan’s sidekick, takes over the saloon, and the ranch is restored to the family. More on Wikipedia or Mubi
Watch Aces and Eights (1936)
