The Walking Hills

1949 · Movie · John Sturges

One day in contemporary Mexicali, a poker game in the back room of a cantina includes horse breeder Jim Carey, cowboys Shep and Johnny, a prospector called Old Willy, a stranger in town named Frazee and a drifter, Chalk. Guitar player Josh and bartender Bibbs are kibbitzing. Conversation turns to a legendary wagon train carrying gold bars worth $5 million lost 100 years ago in the Walking Hills, a huge area of shifting dunes across the border in the United States. Johnny, not paying attention, casually mentions how his horse recently tripped over an old wagon wheel in the hills. To keep the discovery a secret, they agree that all of them including Jim's man Cleve must join the search for the wagon train.