Alan Ladd is Capt. Brett Sherwood - a Confederate soldier who in the dying days of the Civil War has joined the famed Quantrill's Raiders - a desperate group of guerrilla fighters who are trying to carve out Confederate territory in Colorado led by the crazed William Quantrill (John Ireland). It doesn't take long for Sherwood and Quantrill to fall out, though, causing big trouble for Arthur Kennedy and Lizabeth Scott - a couple who get mixed up in the action and wind up trapped with Ladd in a mountain cave preparing for a deadly standoff!

An underrated and fast-paced drama, Red Mountain is greatly aided by the performances of it's main stars Alan Ladd, Lizabeth Scott, and a surprisingly good performance by John Ireland in one of the best roles of his career. It's obvious from the start that Ladd and Ireland are on a collision course and you can't wait to see it happen! The movie has plenty of shootings, claim-jumping, a lynching scene, Indian fights and a dusty, noisy battle where the soldiers fight at close quarters in well-staged cavalry action. A solid cast of western supporting actors is on hand to keep the story moving at a good clip. Camera work and Franz Waxman's music are good.